


In The Rain

by vityanikiiforov



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: A Fucking Shitload Of Swearing, Aged-Up Character(s), Aged-Up Otabek Altin, Aged-Up Yuri Plisetsky, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, And he's really forward, Friends to Lovers, I'm Bad At Tagging, M/M, Otabek is 24/25 idk honestly their age difference is confusing, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Third Person, Physical therapist!Otabek, Sara Crispino/Mila Babicheva (Mentioned), Slice of Life, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Swearing, They still have the same age gap though, Uni student!Yuri, Yuri is 21/22, and nice and helpful hehe, otabek is mostly the same except he smiles a lot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-02
Updated: 2017-05-13
Packaged: 2018-09-18 02:22:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 35,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9361595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vityanikiiforov/pseuds/vityanikiiforov
Summary: Yuri was just walking down the street in the rain.He never expected a dark-haired stranger to share his umbrella with him, despite Yuri telling him to go fuck himself.He never expected him to live in the same apartment building as him.And he never expected a stranger he met on the street to become so much more than that.





	1. Black Umbrella

**Author's Note:**

> hey! I've been working on the story for a while so I'm excited to share. It'll be a pretty slow build-up, and there is a LOT of cursing in it, so be warned haha. enjoy and let me know what you think!! it's my first fic! :-)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !!also!! I found this fanart on Tumblr which perfectly fits the flashback Yuri has in this chapter [here!](https://arbutus-blossoms.tumblr.com/post/153583447626/yuri-his-grampa-i-just-want-yurio) it's by [arbutus-blossoms](https://arbutus-blossoms.tumblr.com) on Tumblr.

**COLD, POURING RAIN** falls from the black sky as Yuri exits his last class of the day. With his hands in his pockets, his sneakers hit the wet sidewalk, each step making a loud, splashing noise. His long blond hair that reaches his past his shoulders is tied back to keep out of the way. _I forgot my fucking hoodie_ , Yuri thinks to himself, _on the rainiest fucking day of the fucking year_. He bites his lip as a specific memory from four years ago keeps replaying in his head.

_“Yuratchka,” Nikolai reluctantly handed Yuri his suitcases and watched him unload them into the trunk of the car. “You don’t have to go.”_

_“You’re telling me this on the_ day _I leave for uni?!” responded Yuri, but with a smile on his face. He slammed the trunk closed, and turned around to lean on the car with his arms crossed._

 _Nikolai sighed, adjusting the flat grey beret on his head. “I’ve been telling you to stay for months_ —”

_Yuri shook his head. “I can’t stay here.”_

          A breath of cool air is emitted from Yuri’s lips as his continues to walk home. He asks himself why he is remembering that specific, unpleasant memory at this moment. _It’s the rain_ , Yuri thinks. It was the same on that day, four years ago.

          Four years ago. Four entire years. That amount of time seems unimaginable to Yuri, and yet it feels like he left only yesterday. He hasn’t visited his grandfather since; obtaining an outrageously expensive plane ticket all the way to Russia isn’t something done on a whim.

_“I’ve already told you why I can’t. You, of all people, should know why,” continued Yuri._

_Nikolai did indeed know all of the reasons. He’d seen them. Lived through them. He had watched Yuri go through everything he had gone through whilst wishing things were different for him all of those years. Yuri never deserved anything of what happened, so Nikolai understood. But, Yuri was his only grandchild, and practically his own son. A sad smile formed on Nikolai’s wrinkled, venerable face. “I am going to miss you a_ whole _lot, Yuri.”_

_Yuri pulled his grandfather in a for a hug. Yuri never was the affectionate type, but when it came to Nikolai, it was different. “I’ll come visit.”_

_“Yuri, leaving without saying goodbye?” a familiar voice sounded._

_The anticipation and excitement of moving to another country for uni had vanished, and was replaced with fury and revulsion. Yuri’s entire body tensed up whilst his hands balled up into fists. He turned around to face him, Yuri’s hateful and minacious turquoise eyes staring straight ahead._

          The rain had been pouring softly that night, but the rain falling right now is hard and unrelenting.

Yuri had just exited his class and is now walking in the pouring rain, quickly becoming soaking wet. He’s been in uni for a few years at this point, studying veterinary medicine, and now all twenty-one year old Yuri Plisetsky wants to do is get home and cuddle with his cat.

As he continues to walk in deep thought, Yuri stops right before the crosswalk, awaiting the signal to ‘walk’ to appear. Yuri watches the cars zoom by on the rain-coated asphalt. Expensive car. Expensive car. Cheap car. Cheap car. _Very_ expensive car. Yuri is doing all he can to keep that one memory off his mind, but when the same car his grandfather drives passes by, Yuri’s mind can’t help but wander back to replaying the scene.

_“Nikolai, why is he here?” Yuri looked at his grandfather, his angered eyes searching for answers._

_The man took a few steps closer to Yuri, crossing his arms together. “Not even a hello, Yuri? I haven’t seen you in eight years and now you’re moving to another fucking country? Without even so much as a goodbye?”_

_Yuri simply ignored him and the rain began to pour more heavily. Nikolai trotted over to the right side of the car and entered the driver’s seat as Yuri entered the car as well. “Let's go.”_

          Yuri hasn’t seen him since. _Thank fucking goodness,_ Yuri thinks.

          He suddenly feels the sensation of rain hitting him has stopped. Yuri looks up to see an umbrella providing him with cover. “What the fuck?” mumbles Yuri, turning to look towards his right side. A man who looks about his age with dark hair tied in a bun, the sides of his hair shaved, and a somewhat menacing face, is beside him.

          “You really ought to be walking in the rain with a black umbrella,” The stranger’s gravelly voice draws, “Or a hoodie at least.”

          “I fucking forgot my...I don’t need that, anyway.” Yuri waves his hand rudely and begins walking as the signal to walk appears. The stranger continues to share his umbrella despite Yuri making it clear he didn’t need it as they cross the crosswalk.

 _What a fucking creep_ , Yuri thinks to himself. He forges ahead with an irate expression on his face, although he seems to have one most of the time. The harsh rain doesn't cease as the two of them go on. Yuri eyes the stranger for a few seconds. He has a soft smile on his face; a very slight one. His hair is long and tied up, the sides almost completely shaven. It’s an odd hairstyle that Yuri is judging him for. There is slight stubble along his jaw. He needs to shave, or he’s _just_ decided to begin growing a beard. His eyes, however, are dark and enigmatic.

          Once Yuri’s brick apartment building is in sight, he stops walking and swivels to face the stranger. “Thank you, now get lost, asshole.” Yuri says and his feet begin ascending the steps to his apartment building. The stranger follows behind him and Yuri becomes even more defensive. “Oi, quit following me, creep.”

          The stranger raises a thick black eyebrow at him. “I live here.”

 _Of course he does_. Yuri sighs impatiently and turns around to enter the building. “Of _course_ you fucking do.” He hears the stranger chuckle lightly and he is just about sock him in the jaw. “I’m taking the stairs.”

          That’s how Yuri Plisetsky and Otabek Altin met.

          In the rain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please let me know what you think in the comments!  
> check me out on [tumblr](https://vityanikiiforov.tumblr.com)


	2. Neighbor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> by the way, they use Celsius :)

**YURI IS STILL FILLED WITH** a certain amount of rage from yesterday's events as he returns to the familiar brick apartment building from another day of uni. He had become very wet from the rain, and so he'd created a trail of water as he stepped into the lobby. That event, also, did not make Yuri’s infuriated state any better.

           He scuffs over to the elevator, impatiently pressing the button multiple times. Ever since Yuri had moved to this apartment building four years ago, the elevator had become renowned for being outrageously slow. All of Yuri’s body heats up in fury when he immediately recognizes the footsteps of his neighbor, Otabek Altin, who is now waiting for the elevator alongside him. “Good evening, neighbor.”

           Yuri extends his middle finger towards Otabek without even bothering to face him. Otabek, however, is unfazed by this.

           The elevator doors finally open and Yuri and Otabek enter. He knuckles the button for his own floor and moves his eyes to face Yuri with an expectant expression. Yuri responds to this, seeming to him as the man he knows as a stalker simply staring at him, as a stalker would, with a very rude grimace and the elevation of his middle finger in Otabek’s face once again.

           “What floor?” asks Otabek, calmly.

 _OH_. Yuri eyeballs the button Otabek had pushed, reading the number ‘three’ on it. “Eh...same.”

           Otabek smiles softly and the doors finally begin to close until a tall, unconfident looking businessman dressed in many coats suddenly rushes in at the very last moment. Yuri feels as if the entire world wants him to have not only the longest elevator ride, but the most irritating one.

           “What floor?” Otabek makes eye contact with the stranger, his usual aloof expression on his face.

          “Two, please,” says the businessman, completely out of breath. His hand runs down his nearly completely bald head, except for the remains of what used to be a full head of red hair. “Thank goodness I made it, you know, I really am in a rush. I left all my materials for a presentation I’m giving at work today, I have to be back as soon as possible.”

          Yuri really couldn't care less about whatever the man was saying, so he begins to aimlessly scroll through his phone— _anything_ to distract him from this situation. Otabek, on the other hand, is paying attention to whatever the man in rambling on about. _He sure is one open motherfucker_ , Yuri thinks as the man continues to speak _._

          “You know, the _same_ thing happened to me last week, I should make better sure to remember to bring my things with me to work...” Soon enough, Yuri can completely zone out the businessman’s blithering. One thing is slightly bothering him though. Yuri _knows_ Otabek is making eye contact with the blithering businessman as he speaks, like most people with common decency do, but he can't help but have a feeling that Otabek is looking at _him_ as well.

           Yuri ever so slightly shifts his eyes over to look at Otabek. Otabek _was_ looking at the blithering businessman, but soon reciprocates Yuri’s eye contact, his dark eyes meeting Yuri’s cyan ones. His gaze is very intense, and Yuri feels as though if he doesn't look away soon enough, he won't be able to break eye contact. Yuri looks away quickly, his face a bit flushed.

           The small monitor at the top corner of the elevator displays the number ‘two’, and the man, who throughout all this, was _still_ talking, swivels around, and walks backward out the elevator. “Bye-bye, now!”

           “Good luck on your presentation,” says Otabek.

           The elevator doors close before the man has a chance to reply. Yuri exhales in relief that he is finally gone. There is nothing at this point Yuri wants more than to reach the third floor so this ill-fated elevator ride can finally be over.

           Eventually, the elevator doors open and Yuri scurries towards his door whilst fishing for his keys in his jacket pockets. He obtains them, and then turns around in _horror_ when he realizes that Otabek’s apartment is the room _directly across the hallway_. Yuri closes his eyes for a moment. “Are you fucking kidding me…” Yuri mumbles to himself, and wonders why the universe is pushing him to his limits today. Behind him, Otabek is fumbling with his keys before Yuri calls out to him. “Oi, asshole,” hissed Yuri. Otabek’s beaming face meets Yuri’s. “Quit staring at me, alright? And wipe that smile off your face.”

           “I’m Otabek. Altin.” Otabek extends his left hand to meet Yuri. Yuri stares at it as if it was a foreign object, and then realizes he must be left-handed. Yuri, however, is the opposite. Nonetheless, this is irrelevant because Yuri was never going to consider shaking his hand, anyway.

           “Tsk,” is all that comes out of Yuri’s mouth, and he begins to unlock his apartment door.

           Otabek clears his throat softly and Yuri only looks at the ground beneath them. “For the record, neighbor, you were the one who looked at me.”

           Yuri’s face reddens and he opens his mouth to say something, but nothing coherent comes out, so out of a mix of embarrassment, anger, and impatience, he enters his apartment without a word. “Goodnight,” calls Otabek before the door fully closes.

           “Shut up!”

          Yuri is filled with rage through the rest of the night as he finishes his homework, studies a bit for an exam he has the next day, and showers.

           He puts on his sleepwear, and then heads down to where his cat, Kuznechik bowl is. “Here, kitty, kitty,” says Yuri in a sing-song voice. He pours Kuznechik some dry cat food in her bowl, which is leopard print and says ‘Spoiled’ on it. Upon hearing the sound of the food hitting her bowl, Kuznechik trots over to Yuri.

           Yuri smiles down at his cat and pets her head. Once she has finished eating, Yuri’s feet patter again the hardwood floor as he heads towards the short flight of stairs that lead up to the mezzanine. His brick apartment is spacious, and his bedroom was on the mezzanine that overlooks the rest of his abode. The mezzanine has a clear panel railing that Yuri likes because he can see what Kuznechik is doing even when he is in his bedroom.

           Kuznechik follows Yuri and walks up the steps to the mezzanine, stroking her body between Yuri’s legs, nearly causing him to trip. “Kuz—” Yuri chuckles, and then picks her up in his arms. “You’ll make me fall down the stairs.” He peels open his bed sheets and crawls under them. Kuznechik curls up into a ball beside Yuri’s face on the bed.

           He turns his face to look out the window at the rain pouring on the cityscape. The streets are glistening and wet, all the cars passing by have their windshield wipers on at the highest setting. Yuri momentarily darts his eyes down to his own apartment door, and makes a _tsk_ noise. “What a fucking weirdo,” mutters Yuri as he strokes Kuznechik’s face. The rain lulls Yuri to sleep until the next morning.

 

 

To no surprise of anyone living in the city, it is raining ferociously the next day. Yuri remembers to take a hoodie this time, after being scarred by the events from before. As a matter of fact, he refuses to buy an umbrella because he thinks they are too expensive, and instead buys a designer brand jacket with a bedazzled tiger pattern on the back.

           “ _Do svidanya, kotenok,_ ” says Yuri to Kuznechik in his native language as he exits his apartment to go to his classes for the day. As Yuri emerges into the hallway, he is relieved when he does not see Otabek, who Yuri still perceives as a stalker.

           Yuri sees that the elevator doors are _just_ closing so he scurries to fit through. Thankfully, Yuri is slim so this is no problem. However, there _is_ a problem when he makes eye contact with his arch-nemesis, Otabek. “For fuck’s sake,” mutters Yuri. He notices something about him, though. Otabek is currently wearing light blue scrubs with running shoes, that Yuri likes but he will never say so. His dark brown, almost black hair is wrapped up in a messy bun, a few wavy strands framing his face. The last thing he is wearing, to Yuri’s dismay, is a soft smile.

           Yuri is half-expecting something out of the ordinary to happen, or for Otabek to initiate conversation only to have Yuri tell him to go fuck himself, but nothing does, and the elevator ride is unusually silent.

           They go down three floors and Otabek exits the elevator ahead of him. Yuri carefully steps out of it, out of fear that he’ll fall into the void that is the elevator shaft, or that the businessman from before would barge in at the last moment. No voids are entered and no businessmen barge in, so Yuri continues his way out of the apartment building.

           Otabek is waiting for Yuri at the door of the apartment, which boils Yuri’s blood. “Why are you fucking _waiting_ for me?”

           “You don’t have an umbrella,” answers Otabek. He opens his as him and Yuri begin walking on the sidewalk toward their destinations.

           “I told you I didn’t fucking _need_ that,” growled Yuri. Otabek is going the same way as Yuri, which leads him to make a stunning conclusion. “You really _are_ stalking me now, huh. Following me, really?”

           “I go this way,”

           “Oh yeah? Where?”

           “...The hospital.”

           _Fuck,_ Yuri thinks _, that’s on the same street as the university._ “The scrubs, right...well, I don’t need the umbrella, for the thirtieth fucking time.”

           Otabek gives Yuri a considerate and concerned look. “You’ll get sick.”

           Yuri takes in his expression and cannot look at him because he becomes red with embarrassment. _Who gives a fuck if I get sick_? Some of Yuri’s roughly eighteen inches of bright blond hair has escaped his hood, but he allows it to stay there to hide his face from the stalker. “No, I won’t.”

           A sigh escapes Otabek’s mouth. “It’s four degrees, and _raining_ , might I add.”

           “Shut up,” Yuri scuttles further along the sidewalk to distance himself from Otabek. Him displaying common courtesy is enough to humiliate Yuri, and Yuri does not like to be seen humiliated. The rain falls right on Yuri’s head, and he admits to himself it’s much less uncomfortable to be under an umbrella, even if it is with a strange stalker.

 

 

 

As if history were repeating itself, Yuri runs into Otabek arriving at the apartment building at the same time as him, after he’d finished his day at uni, _again_. They catch the same elevator back upstairs and today, Yuri wastes no time cutting to the chase. “Are you _sure_ you’re not stalking me?” asks Yuri, raising an accusing eyebrow. The amount of times they had run into each other at this point was appalling—leaving and arriving to the apartment at the same time each day, having the same commute—and to Yuri, there is _no_ other logical explanation for this than what he has just accused Otabek of.

           “My shift ended at four in the afternoon,” responded Otabek in a calm tone, clearly being patient when it came to being accused of being a stalker, told to shut up, and given the middle finger by someone he has been very nice to, on a daily basis.

           “Well, shit.”

           “Hm?”

           “So did my last class,” answers Yuri, surprising Otabek with a tone of voice that isn’t fueled by fury.

           Otabek’s curiosity is piqued at this point. He smiles at Yuri and asks him, “Oh, you go to uni?”

           “I like how you ask me that as if you haven’t been stalking me the past six months,” Yuri stretches both of his arms. All the fury constantly coursing through his veins causes some tension in his body, apparently.

           Otabek emits a genuine laugh, stroking a piece of dark hair behind his ear. “I actually just moved to this apartment a few days ago. I haven’t lived here very long. I just started this job, actually.”

           “Mhm. Sure,” Yuri apparently does not believe a word Otabek has said.

           He only laughs again. Yuri moves his head to side and covers his mouth as he sneezes. “What are you smiling for, asshole?!”

           “I told you that you’d get sick, didn’t I?” Otabek smiles and Yuri can see him biting his tongue ever so slightly between his very straight teeth. He sees the smallest hint of a set of dimples on Otabek’s cheeks, and Yuri quickly looks away.

           Yuri suddenly feels a bit mousy and suffocated and he pulls the neckline of his shirt to give him more room. “What are you, a fucking nurse?”

           “Physical therapist, actually.” This piques Yuri’s curiosity but he doesn’t ask anything of it. 

           “I’m not—” Yuri interrupts himself by sneezing, and uses his bare index finger to wipe his nose clean. “—I’m not _sick_.”

           Otabek hands Yuri a tissue from his bag and Yuri hesitates for a quick second before he reluctantly takes it, wiping his nose once more. “Your nose is congested,” observes Otabek. He is rather amused by Yuri’s refusal to acknowledge his cold.

           “How the _fuck_ do you know that?” Yuri sneezes again.

           Otabek slightly tilts his head and lifts up the corners of his mouth more, dimples fully coming into view. “You’ve been sniffing every twenty seconds, and your voice sounds all stuffy.”

           Another sneeze. Yuri twirls a piece of blond hair between his fingers and looks up at Otabek. “That’s how I always sound.”

           “Nope.”

           “Shut up.”

           Making it to their apartment doors, Yuri is sneezing and sneezing while he scrambles to find his keys. “Oi, neighbor.”

           Yuri lets out a deep, angry sigh and turns around to _stare_ at him with the most deadpan expression he can muster. “Hm?”

           “Have some chicken soup, you’ll feel better,” states Otabek, flashing him a genuine smile.

           Yuri doesn’t answer and begins to open his apartment door. The strange ‘stalker’ has been very nice to him, if not a little intrusive and prying, so Yuri feels bad entering his apartment without saying anything. “Eh...thanks.”

           Our Yuri has never been treated kindly but anyone except his grandfather Nikolai, so having someone act so benevolently toward him is something he is not used to. He still thinks Otabek is a stalker, but the thought of someone else caring for him at all makes Yuri’s cheeks redden as he lies in bed that night, staring at the ceiling of his apartment. He remembers choosing it solely for these three reasons—the mezzanine, the brick, and the windows that overlook the cityscape. The city has very vivid and distinct seasons; harsh and snowy winters, flowery and rainy springs—although, really, it rains year-round—, hot and sunny summers, and an autumn where all the leaves turn shades of yellow, orange, and red.

           Yuri gazes out the window to where it’s—get this—raining.  It helps him to fall asleep, so it’s no problem for him. Yuri’s blond hair is sprawled across his pillow, and Kuznechik lies down directly next to him. He strokes her, right under her chin. Kuznechik raises her head in satisfaction.

           Suddenly, he sneezes once again, startling the poor cat. “I’m not sick, right, Kuz?”

           Kuznechik lies her head on Yuri’s abdomen. To Yuri, who might as spell speak cat-language, apparently not meowing in response means, “you are sick, dumbass.” His mouth opens in shock that his cat is siding with the ‘stalker’.

           “Kuznechik?!”

 


	3. Chicken Soup

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUYS GUYS GUYS GUYS GUYS GUYS!!!!! the wonderful, awesome perfect [@roseroyaly](https://roseroyaly.tumblr.com) on Tumblr made this stunning fanart for this chapter and I just had to share!!!
> 
>   
> ****  
> 
> 
> It absolutely perfectly encompasses Yuri in the chapter!!! I LOVE it!!!!!!!

**IT HAS BECOME A REPEATED PATTERN** at this point—each day, Yuri and Otabek somehow run into each other on their way back home or on their way to work or uni, walking on the streets in the rain, or in the elevator. It has been an entire week of Yuri _ferociously_ denying Otabek’s umbrella, but Otabek is a kind, yet very persistent person, apparently.

           That Saturday, Yuri wakes up with the worst combination of nasal congestion, dry throat, and lightheadedness he has ever experienced.

           “The asshole was right,” mumbles Yuri, his hand resting on his forehead as he lies in bed, face up. “Shit.”

           From below the mezzanine, he hears a knock on the door. Yuri lets out a booming groan, peeling his covers off of him as he rises from the bed. Kuznechik leaps off the bed and uses Yuri’s wicker laundry basket as a scratching post. He becomes distracted for a moment whilst watching his cat being adorable, and then he throws on a white t-shirt because he wouldn’t want to answer the door in just boxers.

           Yuri’s bony feet make a pleasing sound when they hit against the hardwood floor as he heads for the front door. He yanks it open ungracefully, and a grimace, his natural expression, forms on his face as he checks to see who on _Earth_ is crazy enough to knock on his door at… Yuri checks his phone to see that it is, in fact, six in the evening..

           He isn’t surprised to see that it is none other than Otabek Altin, Yuri’s kind, but nosy neighbor. He’s dressed in jeans, a long sleeve t-shirt and a jacket, with a thin scarf wrapped round his neck. Otabek’s dark brown hair is tied in a bun as always, but this time there is a braid trailing down from his hairline. “Get lost, asshole,” sneers Yuri, who then sneezes three times in a row. He doesn’t even allow him inside, merely speaking to him in the doorway.

           “Good evening,” says Otabek kindly. “Did you just wake up?”

           Yuri’s tired face is self-explanatory. Otabek clears his throat and continues, “Ah, well, I have chicken soup, if you’d like some.”

           “Did you seriously make chicken soup just so you can lure me into your apartment to murder me and chop me up into bits?” inquires Yuri, who is _almost_ one hundred percent serious. His feet are barefoot and he is wishing that he’d put on his cat slippers.

           A chuckle is emitted from Otabek’s lips, which are considerably plump. _What the fuck am I thinking_?, Yuri thinks to himself. He looks back at Otabek’s eyes and thinks about what the fuck is wrong with himself. “I just came from my grandmother’s,” responds Otabek, a sentimental expression on his face. “She made some for me—it’s my favorite.”

            Otabek lifts up a container that held the aforementioned chicken soup. Yuri eyeballs it suspiciously, the same way a person would evidence in a crime scene. “I’ll be fine, _ползаете_ ,” says Yuri in is native tongue. _Ha. The bastard won’t understand—I should do this more often._

           “Again, with that ridiculous creep delusion,” Otabek shakes his head, laughing once more. _Does this asshole ever stop laughing_?, Yuri thinks, before realizing that Otabek understood his Russian words. _What the fuck?!_ Yuri’s bright blue-green eyes widen and his cheeks flush in shock as Otabek begins to leave.

           “Feel better,” Otabek gives Yuri a soft smile and then enters his own apartment.

           Yuri’s face is completely red at this point, and he is still gaping at Otabek’s closed apartment door. He is _very_ puzzled about how on Earth Otabek understood what he said. His name certainly doesn’t sound Russian. He sneezes a few times in a row, his throat beginning to ache, and he scouts the entirety of his apartment for medicine but is unsuccessful. “Maybe I should go buy some…” Yuri rubs his neck and then shifts his body to face the window. “It’s fucking raining. What a surprise.”

           If it is even possible, Yuri’s cheeks redden even more at the thought that pops into his head. His eyes move to his apartment door. Otabek _did_ say chicken soup would make Yuri feel better, and he feels pretty shitty right now. Kuznechik trots over to Yuri, placing her two feet together elegantly, blinking her blue eyes up at Yuri. “Should I, Kuznechik?” Yuri asks his cat, his go-to animal for advice.

           Kuznechik meows softly at Yuri, which is most likely her begging for a treat, or a pet on the head, and Yuri sighs. “What if I get murdered and chopped up into bits?”

           Meow.

           “Curse you, Kuznechik,” grumbles Yuri, who walks up the steps to the mezzanine. He quickly changes into a jacket and some joggers, and then slips on leopard print sneakers. “If I die, you get all of my money.”

           It takes Yuri a few moments of pep-talking and formulating escape plans if Otabek does indeed end up being a serial killer who chops up his victims and cooks them up in his grandma’s chicken soup. “If he blocks the front door, I use the fire escape,” Yuri nods to himself, and then opens the front door. He takes the few steps to Otabek’s door, and he knocks several times.

           Yuri taps his foot impatiently when Otabek doesn’t open the door within the first five seconds of Yuri knocking. “Oi, asshole, how long are you planning on taking to open the door?” The door swings open and Otabek flashes Yuri yet another smile. He’s taken off his scarf and rolled up his sleeves a bit.

           “Ah, hi, neighbor.”

           “Would you cut it out with the ‘neighbor’ shit? You make it sound like we’re on a fucking sitcom,” complains Yuri, who enters Otabek’s apartment without being invited in. Yuri has never been the most cordial or well-mannered person.

           Otabek closes the door behind him and raises an eyebrow at Yuri. “Well, you never told me your name.”

           “You never asked.”

           “Well, traditionally, when someone introduces themselves, like when I told you my name was Otabek Altin, the other person introduces themselves as well.” Otabek shrugs, and then heads over to the kitchen. “Please, sit down.”

           “Great, a smartass,” mumbles Yuri. He takes in the appearance of Otabek’s apartment as he sits down at the kitchen island. There are many paintings on the walls, several bookcases completely overfilled with all sorts of books, some string lights hanging, light colored furniture—but the one thing that is the most different from Yuri’s is that his apartment is very clean and very organized. Yuri, on the other hand is not so neat and organized. If one were to see Yuri's apartment, you'd see junk food wrappers, dust, cat hair, and unwashed dishes, most likely.

         “You’re being awfully rude to someone who’s offered you chicken soup,” calls Otabek from the kitchen, who is standing in front of the stove, heating up the chicken soup in a pot.

         Yuri observes what Otabek is doing and furrows his brows. “Why don’t you just use a microwave? You’re not one of those wackos that think you’ll grow a third eye or something from it, are you?” Yuri would not be surprised if Otabek held this belief.

         Otabek lets out a genuine laugh, raking back a few tendrils of wavy hair across his head. “No. This is how my grandma has always made it for me since I was a child.” He spends some time stirring the soup, and then when he’s deemed it ready, pours it into two proper soup bowls. Yuri admires how he even places the corresponding plate underneath the soup bowls as well. Otabek gingerly places the two bowls of soup on the kitchen island along with silverware and napkins—one right in front of Yuri and one in front of the seat beside him.

          “Oi,” says Yuri, and Otabek turns to face him. “Thank you.”

         Of course, a smile from Otabek. “Something to drink?”

         “Eh...water.”

         Two waters are placed on the kitchen island and Otabek takes a seat beside Yuri. It’s an awkward feeling for Yuri, sitting in such close proximity to someone he’s just met a few days ago, who he may or may not think is a murderer who chops his victims.  Yuri leans his head down a bit and smells the warm scent coming from the soup. “It smells good,” comments Yuri, who takes the spoon and takes a spoonful.

         Yuri’s soul escapes his chair and transcends space and time. His soul travels through all of the galaxy, and even fucking Wonderland, because of how delicious this soup is. “...Goddamn, that’s good soup.”

         Otabek smiles once more, taking a spoonful of some soup. _Hm,_ Yuri thinks _, he doesn’t speak much unless you initiate it_. They eat in silence for a few moments before Yuri feels something stroke his legs. “What the fuck?” Yuri lifts his feet and frantically searches the ground below him.

         A black, long-haired cat is staring straight at Yuri. Yuri exhales in relief, and then, upon looking at the cat, goes into cat-lover mode. If his eyes could form into heart shapes, they would. Yuri leans down and strokes the cat underneath the chin, and the cat begins purring in response.

         “You have a cat…” Yuri smiles down at it.

         “Ah, you’ve met Angus,” Otabek looks down at his cat.

         Yuri is baby-talking Angus with the same voice he uses for Kuznechik. “He’s so cute. I have a cat, too. I-I love them.” Yuri stutters when talking for his love for cats, because it is the one thing he cares the most about. “Can I feed him some chicken?”

         Otabek nods, and Yuri feeds Angus a piece of chicken from his hand. Angus eats the piece slowly, as most cats do, and sniffs Yuri’s hand, searching for more. Yuri has fallen in love with Angus. “He’s so cute—”

         _Bark!_

         Yuri’s eyes widen and he looks around frantically. Otabek raises his eyebrows. “Are you scared of dogs?”

        “No, no. I was just surprised,” answers Yuri, sitting back in the stool. A full size black Greyhound goes down the steps from the mezzanine, and trots over to its food bowl. It’s a bony, horse-like dog, and it’s very beautiful. “I didn’t notice her.”

         “She was sleeping. Her name is Venus.” explains Otabek, who eats another spoonful of soup. “You have any dogs?”

         “I’m more of a cat person,” Yuri smiles as he thinks of his enormous love for cats. He turns to face Otabek who was watching him. Yuri quickly turns back to his soup, and hopes the redness on his face is from the heat of the soup and not anything else. There’s been a question burning in the back of Yuri’s brain for the entirety of the day and Yuri decides to ask it. “Oi, how did you understand what I said earlier?”

         “Hm?”

         “When I called you a _ползать_ , you understood me.” His face is flushed as he recalls the incident.

         Otabek nods and grins softly. “Ah. Well, I’m from Kazakhstan, and there are many Russians in Almaty. Many people in Almaty speak Russian, including myself.” Yuri recalls how Kazakhstan and Russia are even neighboring countries. The idea of Otabek speaking Yuri’s native language gives Yuri an unidentifiable feeling in his stomach.

         “That makes sense,” Yuri is relieved now, knowing the answer to his question. “Your name didn’t sound very Russian to me.”

         At this point, Yuri and Otabek have finished their soup. After saying no to Otabek’s offer for a second serving, Otabek takes their plates and handwashes them in the sink. Yuri eyes Otabek as a chocolate brown strand of hair falls down on his face. Angus jumps up onto Yuri’s lap, and he strokes his head.

         “Gus likes you. He usually doesn’t like anyone besides me, so that’s a good sign.” says Otabek, and Yuri likes how he has shorted “Angus” to “Gus”. Yuri takes this as a sincere compliment, giving the cat a few more pets before biting his lip and looking at Otabek.

         “Oi,” Yuri continues to bite his lip. This is another question that has been bothering Yuri, but it’s more embarrassing to ask. “Why are you so nice?”

         This captures Otabek’s attention and he turns around, hands resting on the counter behind him. “Hm?”

         “To me....even the mouthy man from the elevator,” Yuri pulls the edge of the neckline of his shirt, something he does when he is a bit nervous. His blond hair is covering his face, which Yuri is using to his advantage.

         “Why not?”

         “ _Hah?!_ ”

         “There’s no reason not to be, right?” Otabek is now leaning on the kitchen island, in closer proximity to Yuri’s face. His dark, soulful eyes engross Yuri and it is hard for him to look away.  “Everyone deserves to be treated kindly.”

         Yuri’s eyes widen and blood rushes to his cheeks. He looks down at Angus, using him as a means of not having to make eye contact with Otabek.

         “...Also, I just moved here recently from Almaty, so I’m trying to acquaint myself with others. It’s just me and my grandmother here. The rest of my family is in Kazakhstan.” explains Otabek, “My grandparents had moved here many years ago, but now my grandmother is moving back.”

         “Well, you have your pets,” Yuri actually _smiles_ at Otabek. It’s not Otabek’s trademark, beaming smile, but it’s a smile, alright. He carefully releases Angus on the floor as he gets off the stool. “Thank you for the soup, Otabek.”

         Otabek’s eyes widen. “That’s the first time you use my name.”

         “Don’t make a big deal out of nothing.”

         “Does that mean I’m not an asshole anymore?” asks Otabek as Yuri heads toward the front door.

         Yuri crosses his arms and smirks. “Nope. You’re still an asshole. And a stalker.”

         A sigh is emitted from Otabek’s mouth. “O-kay. Bye, neighbor.”

         Smoke is practically coming out from Yuri’s ears. “Again, with the—”

         “I don’t know your _naaaaame_ ,” hums Otabek, tilting his head and allowing some strands of hair to fall in Yuri’s direction. He looks down to hide his flushed cheeks. Yuri tells him a quick goodnight and exits before his face exploded from redness.

 

 

Later that night, Otabek sees that Yuri left his phone on the kitchen island. He stuffs it in his pocket and exits his apartment to knock on Yuri’s door.

         “What a surprise,” says Yuri sarcastically, with a playful grin on his face.

         “Ah, you left your—is that a cat onesie?” Otabek’s eyebrows raise in surprise. Yuri’s pajamas of choice today seems to be a cat-themed onesie, complete with a tail and hood with pointy ears. Otabek notes how his neighbor almost always has a hood on.

         “ _Obviously_.”

         Otabek smiles. “I like it.”

         _Why am I turning red for the hundredth fucking time_? Yuri moves his head a bit to cover his face with his hair. “Ah, there’s your cat,” Otabek bends down to pet Kuznechik. Yuri smiles, now that the asshole stalker has met his beloved cat.

         “That’s Kuznechik.” 

         “Eh, I don’t know if my Russian skills are that well,” Otabek laughs gently, stroking a hand across Kuznechik’s head.

         “It means ‘grasshopper’,” elaborates Yuri. “I found her two years ago while I was jogging. She had a dead grasshopper in her mouth.”

         Otabek seems to have enjoyed the backstory for the name based off the amused expression on his face. “She’s very cute. I like her blue eyes.”

         Yuri scratches his, now even warmer, face, and decides to pull a little joke. “She likes you. That’s a good sign,” says Yuri in a mocking tone.

         “Ha. Ha. Ha. Very funny.” Otabek rolls his eyes and stops petting Kuznechik. Yuri uses that as an opportunity to pick up Kuznechik like a baby, which Otabek finds very amusing. While doing so, Yuri’s hood falls off his head, revealing his long pale blond hair. Otabek has never seen it before like that, is surprised by its length, and is quite fond of it. “Your hair’s pretty long, huh?”

         Yuri wasn’t expecting a sudden call of attention to his own appearance. He is not accustomed to that sort of thing. “I guess so.”

         “I’ve never seen it all down like that, it’s always tied back or in a hood.” observes Otabek, his eyes traveling all over Yuri’s long locks. Yuri feels very shy at this point, and he wants to put his hood back on but doesn’t for some reason. “It’s nice.”

         Out of fear that Otabek will see his tomato-red face, Yuri places the hood back on once and for all and makes sure hair is covering his face. “W-what did you need?”

         “Ah,” Otabek fishes around in his pocket and then produces Yuri’s leopard print iPhone. “You left this at my place.”

         “Ha. Bet you tried looking through my stuff, you _stalker_ ,” Yuri takes the phone from his hand.

         “Don’t forget ‘asshole’.”

         “S-shut up.”

         Otabek turns to walk away and Yuri feels penitent for not thanking him. “Thank you, Otabek. Eh…’night.”

         “Night, Rapunzel,” teases Otabek as he closes the door.

         “HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH?!!!!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed, and please let me know what you think in the comments! ideas, comments, what you liked/didn't like, headcanons???? thank you!!! ヽ(♡‿♡)ノ


	4. "Friend"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I found a perfect fanart on Tumblr that really fits Chapter 1, if you want to go back and see it, it's in the chapter notes!

**WITHOUT THE USUAL GRIMACE** on his face, Yuri hops into the elevator after Otabek. Otabek motions to push 'three', but Yuri beats him to the punch, leaning slightly to push the button before Otabek has a chance to.

     "Slowpoke," teases Yuri. His voice and nose are no longer congested, and his sneezes have been reduced to a mere handful per day.

     Otabek looks at his phone and suddenly, he rememebers something. "Ah, the football match is tonight."

     Yuri curiously peaks at Otabek's phone, which has a generic iPhone wallpaper on it. "I've got to watch it."

     "Would you like to come over and watch it? My friend from work who was going to watch it with me has just texted me to blow off our plans," mumbles Otabek.

     Yuri begins thinking of all the things that come with visiting Otabek's home. He _does_ have a cat, which is almost always enough to convince Yuri to go anywhere, but that isn't the first thing Yuri thinks of however. Warm, delicious chicken soup comes to mind. "Well..."

     "You're much less sick now, eh? Your voice is sounding better." observes Otabek.

     Yuri's eyes slightly widen. _If he thinks I'm not sick, will he not give me chicken soup if I come over?_ Yuri's inner monologues are always so peculiar, aren't they. He pretends to sneeze and makes his voice sound slightly more congested. "If you give me chicken soup, I'll consider it."

     Otabek sticks his phone back into his front pocket of his scrubs and looks at Yuri with an amusing look on his face. He knows exactly what Yuri is up to, and Otabek finds it completely hilarious. "You don't need to fake sick just for some chicken soup. You're always welcome."

     "Pssh, I'm still sick," Yuri pretends to cough, even though that was never even one of his symptoms. In actuality, Otabek's chicken soup proved itself to be quite an efficient form of medicine. Yuri still has his suspicions that Otabek laced it with some kind of cold medicine, but if he did, it was barely noticeable. Within three days, Yuri's cold had almost completely dissipated, even with the constant, daily cold temperatures and rain.

     "Right. Well, I'll heat up some chicken soup for you and we can watch the football match," Otabek says as the elevator arrives at the third floor and the door opens. Yuri follows behind him.

     Otabek's keys jingle as he begins unlocking his door. He senses a presence behind him and he realizes that Yuri is going directly to Otabek's apartment at this moment. _He must really like that soup_ , Otabek thinks to himself. He intends for Yuri to enter first as he holds the door for him. Yuri allows himself inside, taking in the appearance of Otabek's aesthetically pleasing, and organized and clean apartment. "When the fuck do you have the time to clean this whole place—"

     Yuri stops in his tracks when he sees an older woman knitting on Otabek's couch. "O-Otabek?"

     Otabek smiles when he sees the woman sitting on the couch. He puts his coat on the coat hanger and walks up to her. Otabek gives her a kiss on the cheek. "Hi, Grandma. Eh," Otabek turns around to face Yuri. "This is my grandmother. Grandma, this is my—"

     His grandmother's eyes—the same color as Otabek's—brighten. "Ah, is he your b—"

     "Neighbor," answers Otabek, beaming down at her before meeting his eyes with Yuri's blue-green ones. "Sorry, I didn't know she was coming over."

     "That's what happens when you give your grandmother a copy of your key," she says and squishes her grandson's cheeks before standing up from the couch and extending her hand to Yuri. "Hi, you can call me Dasha."

     "Oh, hi," Yuri shakes Dasha's hand and takes in her appearance. She has Otabek's same dark eyes and olive skin tone. She has a good figure for her age, and she is very beautiful, even with slight signs of aging. Yuri isn't sure of her age because she acts very youthful and has a young face compared to other grandmothers he knows. Her dark hair is cut in a stylish bob, and her eyes are very kind.

     "Are you two watching the football match?" Dasha says, smoothing out her button-up shirt.

     Otabek nods. "Yeah, we were gonna watch the game and have some leftover chicken soup."

     Dasha's face brightens. You can tell she is an avid football fan. "Ah, splendid, splendid. But nevermind the leftovers. I'll make some from scratch."

     Yuri feels excited already. "From scratch?"

     "Oh, yes, yes. I wouldn't want you boys to have leftover soup when the queen chef herself can make it for you two. Plus, it tastes better fresh," says Dasha excitedly, going to the kitchen. "Say, Beka, where are your aprons? Wait, nevermind, I found them."

     Dasha ties the apron around her waste and Yuri takes note of the nickname she used. 'Beka'. It must be a term of endearment, just like most names have. _Hm. 'Beka'_ , Yuri thinks. Otabek goes to the kitchen. "Do you need help, Grandma?"

     "Oh, no, no, I'm fine. Go ahead and change from your scrubs," says Dasha. "I'll show your neighbor to how to cook some traditional Kazakh foods."

     "Ah, what are you making?"

     "Along with the soup which is our own family's recipe," Dasha explains as she makes eye contact with Yuri. "I'll also be making some _buarsak_ on the side. It's usually only on special occasions, but as I'm moving soon I thought I'd make it for Beka. But, the more the merrier."

     Otabek smiles. "Oh, yummy. I love _buarsak_." He heads up the stairs to the mezzanine and enters the bathroom.

     Yuri moves his eyes from upstairs to where Dasha has started laying out ingredients on the kitchen island. "What is _buarsak_?" asks Yuri, genuinely interested in Kazakh cuisine.

     Dasha grins and takes some ingredients from one of Otabek's cupboards. "You'll see. Put an apron on."

     Dasha has a very peremptory voice, and Yuri does exactly as she says. "I'll tie your hair up for you," says Dasha. Yuri is about to object but Dasha does as she pleases, picking up Yuri's hair into a bun, a hairstyle he's never personally worn before. "Your hair is beautiful."

     Yuri reddens, as he does when anyone calls attention to his appearance. "Thanks."

     Dasha hovers her hand over a cluster of different ingredients. "We have to mix all of this together in  a bowl, can you do the measurements for me while I start preparing the soup?"

     Yuri loves a challenge, and this one is cooking food from a country he knows little to nothing about. "Yes."

     "Alright, so one and a half kilograms of this, five hundred milliliters of this, a tablespoon of salt, three tablespoons of this, ten grams of this, a couple of these, and some of this—not too much, just eyeball it." Dasha says, hovering her hand over each ingredient. She nods at Yuri expectantly, and he nods in return. Determined, Yuri begins to measure all of the ingredients. He drops some salt, breaks one of the eggs on the ground, and spills the milk when he is pouring it inside the bowl. Yuri feels as if he is on a cooking show with only seconds left to spare. Once all of the ingredients have been placed in the bowl, Dasha nods in approval. "Perfect—now mix it all together."

     Yuri nods obediently, beginning to do so. At this point, Otabek has finished washing up and has changed into more casual clothing for a Kazakh-cuisine themed, mini football viewing party. He heads over to the kitchen to see what he is missing out on. The first thing he sees is Yuri aggressively mixing the bowl. "Ah, I think you're mixing a bit too hard—" _Poof_. Some flour goes flying onto Otabek's face.

     "Otabek, I—" Yuri begins.

     "Told you you were mixing too hard," says Otabek with a smile on his face, but then he grabs a tiny bit of flour from its bag and flicks it right in Yuri's face.

     "Motherfu—" Yuri wants to exclaim but his grandmother is present so he feels compelled not to. "You're a mothertrucker."

     "A what?"

     Inevitably, a food fight ensues and Yuri and Otabek are continously throwing flour, and eventually wet substances that stick to said flour at each other. "Otabek!" Yuri exclaims. Dasha turns around at the commotion and places her hands on her hips.

     "What on _Earth_ is going on here?" Dasha gives both Yuri and her grandson a deathly glare. "Stand up, both of you."

     Yuri and Otabek rise to their feet. "Are you boys five years old?"

     They shake their head.

     "Ten years old?" asks Dasha menacingly.

     Two sets of heads shake once more.

     "I didn't think so. Clean up this mess or I will take my things _and_ my chicken soup elsewhere," Dasha is trying hard not to laugh at this point. To Dasha, it is very hilarious to watch her grandson and his...neighbor interacting in this way. She is happy to see Otabek getting to know other people.

     "No!" cries Yuri. "Not the soup..." He begins to clean frantically, and Otabek follows suit. If there is anything besides cats that you can use to lure or persuade Yuri to do things, it's Otabek's grandmother's chicken soup. He has developed a massive love for it.

     Dasha finishes up the soup and _buarsak_ herself while Otabek and Yuri set the table—which is really just the counter island with booths on it. Dasha fills the plates with chicken soup and _buarsak_ , and is very satisfied with how everything came out, despite the small delay.

     Yuri is intrigued when he discoveres that _buarsak_ is a kind of puffy bread. It's absolutely delicious and compliments the chicken soup. Dasha, Otabek, and Yuri eat their soup and _buarsak,_ enjoying every bite.

     "I used to make this soup for Beka all of the time, don't you remember that?" Dasha reminisces on memories of Otabek as a child.

     Otabek smiles nostalgically. "It was my favorite meal."

     "Did you make _buarsak_ a lot too?" asks Yuri curiously.

     Dasha shakes her head. " _Buarsak_ is usually for special occasions, so I don't make it often. It is a favorite in our family, though."

     After they've all finished their food, Yuri and Otabek wait for the football match on the TV and Dasha continues whatever she is knitting. "Say, look at this."

     Dasha leans over and displays her phone mostly to Yuri. It's a baby photo of Otabek's. He is at the beach, less than a year old, and his chubby baby rolls are all covered in sand. Otabek has on an adorable blue baby hat, sheltering him from the sun. "Is that Otabek?" ask Yuri with widened eyes. Dasha nods and Otabek begins turning red. "Otabek, you were such a chubby baby! Look at those cheeks!"

     "Grandma," Otabek glares at Dasha.

     "Oh, come on. You really were absolutely precious, Beka." Dasha squishes her grandson's cheeks. "Look, here's another one!"

     Yuri smiles at the hilariously adorable pictures of baby Otabek. He can help but gaze at the rare sight of Yuri smiling, because, in Otabek's opinion, his smile is quite lovely. Otabek notes how much his baby pictures make Yuri smile, and so now, he doesn't mind it as much.

 

 

 

After the football match, Dasha grabs her things and heads towards the door. "I should get going, Beka."

     "That was a good game, wasn't it?" says Otabek, rising from the couch and walking towards his grandmother.

     "Sure was," Dasha grins at her son and then makes eye contact with his neighbor. "It was nice meeting you."

     "Same goes for me," Yuri shakes Dasha's hand. "You'll probably see me around if you come by again."

     Otabek suddenly looks at Yuri. Is he not an asshole stalker anymore? _You'll probably see me around if you come by again_. Does that mean he was going to come over more? Otabek thinks of all these questions and more before his grandmother speaks.

     "Oh, really?" says Dasha, feigning curiosity. She knows what is going on, or at least has her suspicions.

     "Yes, yes. We're friends," says Yuri nonchalantly. Otabek's heart begins to beat faster and he is about to have a heart attack.

     _Friends_.

     "I'm glad to hear that," says Dasha, and then looks at her grandson. She squeezes his hands and winks at him while Yuri isn't looking and Otabek opens his mouth to say something but she opens the door. "I'll come over soon, Beka. Bye-bye."

     She wiggles her fingers and then exits his apartment. Otabek closes the door behind her and turns around to look at Yuri with a raised eyebrow.

     "What?" asks Yuri.

     "We're friends?"

     Yuri nods as if that's the most obvious thing in the world. "Yes..."

     "I didn't know that," says Otabek, petting Angus, who has just woken up from a nap.

     Yuri raises an eyebrow, and ends up interpreting what Otabek is saying in the most incorrect way. "What, you don't want to be my friend or something?"

     "That's what I've been trying to do this whole time," answers Otabek bluntly. "I thought you were the one that didn't want to be—"

     "Shut up, you're talking nonsense, Otabek," says Yuri. All of this seems ridiculous to him, but inreality, Otabek has valid reasons to think Yuri never wanted to be friends. "Don't make a big deal out of nothing."

            "If you say so," says Otabek. Internally, however, Otabek is overjoyed. Has Operation Become Yuri's Friend come to fruition? If being a friend means being called an 'asshole stalker', and being told to go fuck himself on a daily basis, Otabek is most definitely okay with that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, comments letting me know what you think are always appreciated!!


	5. Forget-Me-Not

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **TRIGGER WARNING: SKIP IF YOU DON'T WANT SPOILERS!**
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> **This chapter contains mentions of (past) homophobia, derogatory homosexual terms (f-word), and physical and emotional child abuse. ******

**TRIGGER WARNING: (skip it if you don't want spoilers)**

**I'm putting this in the actual text, just in case someone doesn't read the author's note!**

**This chapter contains mentions of (past) homophobia, derogatory homosexual terms (f-word), and physical and emotional child abuse.**

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_**"YURI, DO YOU WANT TO PLAY?"** asked the small boy in Russian, his red hair covered in a grey winter hat. _

_"Yes," answered ten year-old Yuri. They played in the snow as it fell down from the skies above._

_Yuri's mother watched her son with a smile on her face, sitting on the hammock of their backyard reading a book. She tucked some blonde hair behind her ear and sighed thoughtfully. Yuri had never had any kind of acquaintance before. Yuri's father had made things quite difficult in the family, and Yuri's ability to befriend with other children was affected by that as well. Whenever Yuri's mother had the opportunity to step out alone with her son and let him be a child for once, she took advantage._

_Yuri was genuinely smiling - a rare sight, which could only be blamed on none other than his father. She tried to not think those things too often, however. "Having fun, sunflower?"_

_Yuri waved to his mother happily, only to be knocked on the ground by a snowball to the face. His mother rose to her feet with the intention of rushing to her son, but she herself was filled with shock when Yuri began, not crying, but_ laughing _._

_"Take that, Alexei!" Yuri returned the favor by darting a snowball right at his friend's face. A snowball fight soon commenced, and Yuri and Alexei had spent a substantial amount of energy playing, but had also had a lot of fun._

_"Alexei, we'll have to get going soon," said Alexei's mother, who was seated beside Yuri's. "Your son seems to get along very well with Alexei."_

_"I'm pleased he does," Yuri's mother said with a soft smile on her face whilst looking at her son. "He's usually very hesitant when it comes to making friends. Not that I blame him."_

_"Sorry?"_

_"Nothing," mumbled Yuri's mother. "We'll have to have them play together again soon."_

_"That sounds splendid," responded Alexei's mother._

_"We're going to our hideout, mama!" called Alexei, and him and Yuri scurried to a spot in the forest behind Yuri's house that they called their 'hideout'. It was a small cave-like opening made by a particular arrangement of plantlife, rocks, and branches, perfect for the small statures of ten year-old Yuri and Alexei._

_The very first time Yuri and Alexei met was when Yuri was playing alone in the backyard. Alexei's own backyard met directly with Yuri's, and Alexei's family had moved next door fairly recently. Yuri was picking flowers from the grass. He was too young to know that they would die if you did so, and would sometimes give them to his mother as a gift. Yuri's mother would accept them, and never wanted to teach him the concept of death. She felt conflicted teaching young Yuri, who had experienced more misfortune and pain in his life than any boy his age should, such a dark concept. He would learn eventually, she would think. Yuri never deserved to feel pain of any sort - so she wanted to protect him as much as she could._

_"What are you doing?" Alexei had asked, a head of red hair suddenly appeared in a hole in the fence. Yuri was terrified and had never seen this red-haired, freckled boy before in his life._

_"I'm picking flowers," answered Yuri cautiously._

_"What kind?" asked Alexei._

_Yuri looked down at the bundle of flowers in his hand. "This is chamomile."_

_Alexei seemed genuinely intrigued. "Can I see?"_

_Yuri nodded hesitantly, and walked up to the fence, showing Alexei the flowers. His dark blue eyes gazed at the flowers with wonder. "My mom drinks chamomile tea. How do you know so much about flowers_?"

          _Yuri's mother had always been quite the lover of flowers. She loved their meanings, their anatomies, their smells, colors, textures, where they thrived, where they didn't, the medicines you could make with them - everything. She had always taught Yuri about flowers, and he inherited the same love for them. His mother's nickname for Yuri was 'sunflower', for Yuri's hair, and also because sunflowers are always pointing towards the sun, always seeking happiness. She wanted him to look on the bright side of things, even in the most dire of situations._

_Soon enough, when Yuri's mother saw her sunflower talking to a hole in the fence, she eventually acquainted herself with Alexei's family and allowed Alexei and Yuri to formally introduce each other without having to talk through a crevice. So, Yuri and Alexei spent most of their days outside together, picking flowers, identifying them, and sometimes coming up with their own names for them until Yuri's mother gave him her book of flowers, which identified all the different kinds._

_Yuri's mother had never been so overjoyed. This was Yuri's first friend. At this point, Yuri's father was working a lot so he wasn't home much, which prevented him from pushing away Yuri's friends like always._

_Yuri began caring for Alexei, and Alexei too. As his first friend that stayed, that Yuri wasn't scared of, that wasn't forced away by his father for the most wrong reasons, he was cautious. Yuri had to learn to be cautious after ten years of never truly having a friend. His life began to seem alot brighter, and Yuri felt he was pointing more at the sun, just like the flower his mother deemed him to be._

_"I'm glad we're best friends, Yuri." said Alexei honestly back at the hideout. Yuri had never had a friend before, especially one as kind and truthful as Alexei. Yuri felt the same way - he loved his new friend, and knew the best way to express those feelings. His red hair was shaggy against his dark blue eyes, which were gazing at Yuri intently._

_Best friends? Hearing those words made Yuri's heart flutter. He'd never had a friend, let alone a_ best friend _before.Yuri searched the ground beneath him, and his eyes brightened when they catch sight of what he was searching for. His young, pale hands yanked the stem of the flower, which was now wilted from the winter, out from where it was emerging from the ground._

_He holds it up to Alexei, a timid, yet hopeful expression on his face. "It's-it's a...." Yuri's mind went black. He knew it had a very obscure name. "Forget-me-not."_

_Alexei gazed at the bundle of bright blue flowers in Yuri's hand. Yuri was shaking nervously, because he had never communicated his feelings to someone before. His father always taught him not to feel, because men have to be strong, to never show emotion because only women had that. In that moment, however, Yuri decided to transgress his father's instructions, and do what his mother taught him to do - express his feelings. "Do you..." said Yuri nervously, his youthful voice trembling. "Do you know what they represent?"_

_His best friend moves his eyes to meet Yuri's blue-green ones. "I do." answered Alexei. "You can tell me."_

_"Well, you know it already_. _"_

_"I'll say it with you, Yuri." said Alexei with a reassuring and gentle voice._

_Yuri gulped. "True love."_

_Alexei smiled at Yuri and holds his hand. Yuri responded with a lightning fast kiss on his cheek. Yuri had a shocked look on his face, awaiting Alexei's response._

_"I hope you keep giving me forget-me-nots til we're old and smelly, Yuri," said Alexei._

_Yuri was absolutely stunned, but filled with happiness as well. A nod was all he could muster, and looked down at his hand still in Alexei's, the other filled with blue forget-me-nots._

_"What is going_ on _here?" Yuri recognized Alexei's mother's voice._

_What Yuri saw scared both him and Alexei. His mother had an infuriated look on her face. "What are you doing, you two?" She kneeled down and wrenched Alexei's hand apart from Yuri's._

_"Mama_ —" _Alexei reached for Yuri again when his mother began to pick him up to separate the two. "Mama, let me go!"_

_Alexei was ferociously denying his mother, and reached for Yuri. Yuri held on to him with all his might, holding on to the only friend he's ever had._

_Eventually the commotion was loud enough that Yuri's mother and father both went to where Yuri, Alexei, and his mother were. "Why can't I hold his hand, Mama?" cried Alexei, tears in his eyes._

_"Please let go, Yuri," asked Alexei's mother, clearly frustrated._

_"What is going on?" Yuri's father asked, his deep and terrifying voice becoming the most dominant one._

_"Your son and my son were doing things two boys ought not to be doing," said Alexei's mother. Yuri began crying real tears as well, something he had never done since his father commanded him not to._

_Yuri's father was immediately enraged. He kneeled down to pick up his son._

_"No, no! Alexei!" cried Yuri, hot tears pouring from his eyes._

_"Kostya, would you please not be so rough with him?" Yuri's mother said softly. "I think you're both making a big fuss_ — _"_

 _"Tatyana, our son will not be a fa_ — _"_

_"Don't you dare. Do not utter those horrible, hateful words in my presence." Yuri's mother, Tatyana, could barely make eye contact with her husband. Alexei's mother distanced the two, who were still crying inconsolably._

_Yuri was crying out to his best friend. He didn't understand. 'Things two boys ought not to be doing'? He didn't understand. He didn't understand. He didn't understand._

_"You won't be seeing your neighbor so much anymore, Alexei," his mother began carrying him to their house. Yuri was watching his whole world slip away_ — _his escape from his father, his best friend, the person he wanted to give forget-me-nots to til they became old and smelly. Yuri didn't even know old people became smelly, but he didn't mind it so much once Alexei told him._

_"NO!" Yuri's face was completely drenched in his tears. "NO!"_

_He kept yelling 'Come back!' Come back!' until Alexei was completely out of sight. Kostya, Yuri's father, roughly took Yuri to his bedroom, Tatyana following behind the two. She wouldn't dare leave the two alone after the events that had just transpired._

_Kostya sat Yuri on his bed and he kneeled down in front of him."What were you doing, Yuri?"_

_"Please let me be friends with Alexei..."_

_"Yuri."_

_"Please!"_

_The menacing look on his father's face was convincing enough. Yuri fiddled his fingers and refused to make eye contact with anything besides the ground. Innocent tears hit the ground below him. "I gave him flowers, and he held my hand, and I gave him a kiss here." Yuri pointed to his cheek with a trembling finger._

_The atmosphere went completely silent and a gasp escaped Tatyana's mouth when Kostya's hand struck Yuri's cheek. Yuri released a yelp in pain, and, as most ten year-old children who had just been struck across the face by their fathers, began to cry._

_"What did I tell you about crying?" Kostya jerked Yuri's face roughly by the chin._

_He kept sobbing. He kept crying._

_"What. Did. I. Fucking. Tell. You. About. Crying." Kostya repeated slowly, every syllable causing poor Yuri more and more distress._

_"Kostya!" interjects Tatyana. She detested when Kostya used that language in front of her son. She associated it with his violent and controlling nature, and never wanted Yuri to be influenced by him. There was only so much she could do, out of sheer terror of what Kostya would do to her and Yuri if he was provoked._

_This seemed to have done that trick for Yuri as he blinked his tears away to make eye contact with his father. "Not to."_

_"And why not?"_

_"Only...only girls cry."_

_"Are you a girl?"_

_"No." answered Yuri, anger now in his voice rather than fear. "Can I go to bed now?"_

_Kostya's eyes narrowed and Tatyana grips a dresser behind her in anticipation for whatever Kostya had planned. With her husband, she never knew what to expect. Sometimes, he was less scary than he seemed, and sometimes, much, much more._

_"Why did you kiss that boy?" Kostya gripped his son's cheeks this time, his eyes peering into Yuri's, which are of the same color. "You're not a faggot, are you?"_

_Yuri knew what that word meant. He never understood the full context of it, but he knew it was bad, and that Kostya hated it. This was the breaking point for his wife, however. "Kostya, what did I say about—"_

_"Stay out of this, woman,'" sneered Kostya. One of his wife's pet peeves was being called 'woman', and he was fully aware of this, and so used it to his advantage. Kostya repeated the question to his son, "Are you a faggot or not?"_

_Yuri knew that if he said yes, he most likely wouldn't live to see the next day. He'd never told anyone about what Kostya did to him and his mother, out of the sheer terror placed in their minds by him. He was strategic enough to not leave behind any evidence, and manipulative enough to keep his wife wrapped around his finger and his son constantly living in fear. To Kostya, this was the only way to keep your wife in check and to raise your son to be a man._

_"No," answered Yuri flatly._

_"Right, because boys aren't supposed to kiss boys. It's disgusting. It's an abomination_ — _it's a crime. Those who do should rot in jail for that. Those people aren't human, Yuri. They're disgusting criminals who deserve to rot in hell." Kostya said. "I know you're not that. You're a man."_

_Kostya went to stand up to leave the room, before deciding to lean closer to Yuri's face for a menacing whisper. "If you pull that shit once more, you will never see the light of day again. I promise you."_

_Those words echoed through Yuri's body the entire night._

_However, it didn't stop him from further pursuing Alexei. The time they had after the previous events was a short amount of time. Alexei and Yuri would secretly talk through the hole in the yard and discreetly and quietly they could. They would talk about what they wanted to do_ — _they'd get a cat for Yuri and a rabbit for Alexei, and they'd have a flower garden full of forget-me-nots and sunflowers. They'd be far, far away from Yuri's father and Alexei's mother. They'd be in their own world and have snowball fights and be in their hideout._

_It wasn't long before they were discovered and this was the last straw for both Kostya and Alexei's family. Before Yuri and Alexei knew it, Alexei's home was packed up in cardboard boxes, and with that, Yuri's friendship with Alexei._

_"Can I at least say goodbye to him?"_

_Kostya and Tatyana argued vehemently about this, both shouting at the top of their lungs. It resulted with Kostya storming out of the house, cigarette in one hand, drink in the other, driving off to some bar._

_"Your father is gone so I want to tell you this very, very, quickly, Yuri, as I don't know when he will return," Tatyana scrambled to put on Yuri's coat, scarf, hat, gloves. She moved his blond, beautiful hair out of his wave and held his cheeks in her hands. Tatyana looked intently into her son's eyes, tears welling in both of theirs. "Yuri, I want you to know_ — _you must never tell your father this_ — _I want you to know that there is absolutely nothing wrong with who you are."_

_Tatyana looked around from side to side frantically. "It may seem to not be accepted all around you, Yuri, the world must seem like a very hateful place, but there are places in the world that you can be who you are. So help me God, I will help you get there, whatever it takes, if I can help it. You are perfect in every single way, you were created with no flaws, you are my absolute, most precious gift, Yuri. One day, you will meet someone that will make all of this just a distant nightmare, I promise you, Yuri. It may be Alexei, but it may not. But however it goes, you are perfect in every single way. You must never forget this. No matter what anyone, anyone, anyone, anyone, anyone says, there is nothing wrong with who you are, Yuri. Do you understand?"_

_Yuri wanted to cry, but he too possessed the same fear that his father was near. He hugged his mother with his little arms enveloping as much as he could. Despite what the world said, Yuri never felt convicted of who he was. He only felt fear in the country he lived in and the family he was surrounded by. "Thank you, Mama."_

_"My sunflower," Tatyana strokes his hair, and then hears something outside. "Oh, there is Alexei. His mother allowed you to say goodbye to him, but don't do anything Alexei will get punished for. I wish you could hug, but I can't imagine what that horrible woman does to her son in her spare time."_

_Yuri was hesitant to go out. Alexei made eye contact with him through their clear front door, full of winter clothing. It was the dead of winter, which seemed almost fitting to Yuri. He didn't want to say goodbye, because saying goodbye meant it was over. But he knew he was never going to see him again. He needed to say goodbye._

_He stepped out the front door, Tatyana following behind him. Alexei's mother stood next to her son with a stern expression. Tatyana looked at the woman, who she had considered a friend when their sons began to get closer, but now seeing her completely change to a hateful and cold person was astonishing._

_A single tear fell from Yuri's eye. He had never been filled with so much sadness in his entire life. His only friend. "Say goodbye, we have to go," said Alexei's mother._

_"G-goodbye." said Yuri. He couldn't handle it, he had to make it as short as possible. He didn't want to delay the inevitable any longer. It hurt his heart far too much._

_Alexei looked at Yuri with shocked, teary eyes, saying 'that's it? Just like that?'  But he knew where Yuri was coming from. His mother had told him, "No funny business." She couldn't even say the word 'kiss' out loud, it was too grotesque to her . But Alexei did not care. If he was going to get punished for it, then so be it._

_He walked up to Yuri, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. "True love, Yuri."_

_More tears fell down Yuri's eyes but he was trying his very best to at least remain calm enough to speak. "True love, A..." He choked on his tears. "Alexei."_

_"Alexei! What did I say_ — _"_

_"Just give it a rest," said Tatyana. "Isn't moving him away forever enough punishment as it is?"_

_"You are despicable to allow this," said Alexei's mother._

_"You are despicable not to," Tatyana defended her son. It did not matter to Tatyana, what mattered most was her son's happiness._

_"Let's go, Alexei."_

_"Wait!" cried Yuri, producing an item for Alexei. It was a plant in a pot, soil and all. "It's a forget-me-not. Take care of it."_

_Alexei took it. "Yuri, promise you'll forget-me-not."_

_"I will forget-you-not." said Yuri. "I promise."_

_That was about all the patience Alexei's mother had before she drove Alexei away. Yuri ran and ran and chased that car down the street as far as his little legs could take him._

_Yuri watched Alexei's car slowly disappear into nothingness. That was the moment that Yuri, the sunflower, stopped facing the light, stopping facing the sun, stopped looking on the bright side. There was no sun. It just drove away in a truck on the snowy streets.  Everything was dark now. To Yuri, he'd never see the sun again, and he certainly wouldn't look for it._

That was all twenty-one year old Yuri thought about the previous night, causing him to not get a wink of sleep. His eyes are bloodshot the next morning, dark circles forming under his eyes.

          Yuri has an unfortunate tendency of remembering such unhappy events, sometimes in the form of vivid nightmares like last night. But something is different in Yuri's heart this morning, as he has come to realize.

          He decides to ignore it completely and step outside for the day. It's raining outside, as usual, which is much better than snow. Yuri's heart is very painful this morning from recalling those events from twelve years ago. He constantly tries to block out those thoughts, but they come back every once in a while to haunt him.

          Yuri is actually thankful that Otabek emerges from his apartment at the same time as him. He is quite happy to see Otabek, he really, truly is. "Good morning, Otabek." Yuri genuinely tries to smile at his neighbor.

          Otabek clearly notices, and is pleasantly surprised. He looks the same as he always does this morning—hair in a bun, blue scrubs, running shoes. "Good morning, Rapunzel."

          "What did I say about—" Yuri bites his lip, but scratches his neck nervously. Something has changed in his heart, he can feel it. It's something strange, and he can't identify the feeling. "Let's go."

          After the elevator ride, they step out into the rainy streets. It's pouring moderately hard this morning, and Otabek opens his black umbrella as always, right before they exit their brick apartment building. They walk in silence until they reach the street of the hospital and the university.

          Otabek motions to walk inside of the hospital as his is first on the street, but Yuri doesn't keep walking. Rather, he stays underneath the black umbrella, rain pouring around them, Otabek towering over him.

          Yuri looks at Otabek for a long time, long enough that Otabek is even beginning to wonder if Yuri is drunk, or "on something". But Yuri is not on something, he is thinking, very, very deeply.

          "Rapunzel, are you—"

          "I'm thinking."

          "But—"

          "I'm thinking, and I need to stare at you for that. So shut the fuck up for one damn second, please."

          The blunt statement causes Otabek's face to redden a bit. He isn't going to lie to himself, he really doesn't _mind_ being stared at by Yuri. He isn't going to say so, however, because he was just told to shut the fuck up for one damn second. _At least he said please_ , notes Otabek.

          Back in Yuri's crazy brain, Yuri is thinking of Otabek. His _friend_. That word is so strange to him, yet he said it so bluntly yesterday and it felt almost natural. _Otabek is my friend_ , Yuri thinks _, I didn't think I'd ever have another one again_. Yuri goes over all the possibilities. What if he leaves? _Yuri, he just moved here_ , Yuri thinks to himself, in third person.

          Yuri hasn't felt this way in twelve years. He is enjoying and craving the company of another human being. That seems so unnatural to him. But, Yuri's anger with Otabek constantly stalking him and sharing his umbrella is bothering him less and less.

          He's never had a real friend that  has stayed.

          What if he does?

          What are you even supposed to do?

          Yuri's mind flashes back to the truck driving away in the snow, his one and only friend leaving, disappearing forever. He has a friend here, now, in the flesh. Someone clearly interested in being his friend. Only one person has ever done that for Yuri.

          "I think I should go into work—"

          "Otabek." says Yuri.

          "Yes?" asks Otabek. He is quite surprised—Yuri appears to have something very important to tell Yuri, and Otabek is quite anxious to hear what it is.

          Yuri gulps. He hadn't done this in twelve years. He lets out a sigh, and then opens his mouth once more.

          "Yuri." The words spill out like the last bit of toothpaste that takes quite the urging to extract.

          "Sorry?" asks Otabek. Yuri appears as though he's just said something mindblowing based on the look on his face, but Otabek is utterly confused.

          "My name is Yuri." Otabek's eyes open wide and his heart begins to beat faster. "Yuri Plisetsky."

          Yuri feels a weight lifted off his shoulders, a door opening that he hadn't expected to ever open again. But something in him changed since meeting Otabek. Something bright and new and different—and Yuri had no idea what he was going to do. This is what he's come up with, for now, a tiny dip into the sea of whatever was to come. "Yuri," Otabek says his name. Yuri likes the way it sounds with his voice. It sounds right. " _Yuuuuuri~"_

"Oy, not like that either."

          "Yuuuuuuu-ri~," Otabek teases.

          "Nevermind, I take it back." Yuri crosses his arms. "Give it back."

          "How am I supposed to—"

          "Give it back!"

          Otabek chuckles, and then smiles down at Yuri. It feels good to finally have a name for him. It took him long enough, but Otabek is a patient person. "I'm glad you told me your name, Yuri Plisetsky. You're not just my nameless friend anymore."

          Friend. "That's right."

          "Can I still call you, Rapunzel, though?"

          " _Fuck_ no!"

          And just like that, Yuri, the sunflower, who had thought was never going to face the sun again, just moved a little bit closer to it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if there SO wasn't much Otabek and Yuri plot development, but yay for Yuri character development!!! I hope you enjoyed the chapter, I hope the TW's helped, please let me know if there is anything in the text you need me to TW, I'll do so in the future. I added it in the story's tags as well.


	6. All I Want To Do Is Play Five Night's At Fucking Freddy's

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhh~ I really wanted to update, even though it's not the best!! Also, this chapter is dedicated to the awesome [@roseroyaly](https://roseroyaly.tumblr.com) on Tumblr for the amazing fanart she made for chapter 3 of In The Rain! If you want to check it out, I placed it in the chapter notes of Chapter 3, let her know how amazing it is!!!

**YURI STARES AT OTABEK'S APARTMENT DOOR** , his fingers shaking, his eyes wide. It is eight forty nine in the morning, nine minutes after Otabek usually emerges from his apartment every morning. _Is he not working today?_ , Yuri thinks. His foot taps, half out of impatience, and half out of nerves. Yuri does not have his phone number to ask if he is coming or not. He insists on knocking on his door repeatedly. "Umbrella!" yells Yuri. "Umbrella, are you coming?"

     A few scenarios run through Yuri's mind, which we all know is often neurotic. He could have the day off and had chosen to sleep in, but Yuri knows Otabek would've notified him the day before. Maybe he forgot to set his alarm. Otabek does not seem like the forgetful type. Perhaps he decided he did not want to be Yuri's friend anymore, and now wanted Yuri to find his own umbrella.

     Yuri becomes frantic and tries to calm himself down in the meantime. He thinks about how he had _just_ told Otabek his name. He has a friend; one that likely won't be leaving anytime soon. Otabek had just begun working at a new job, and hasn't been living in this apartment building very long, and has only lived in this city, country even, for, who knows, a few months?

     _Why the fuck am I worrying so much about him?_ Yuri thinks. Yuri will never say so or even think it to himself, but he has grown an attachment to Otabek and their friendship, and despite his failed friendships in the past, he wants his friendship with Otabek to thrive. It has now come to a point where Yuri is now genuinely concerned for his neighbor's wellbeing, and that fact terrifies the shit out of him. One last, absurd idea pops into Yuri's mind. Have the tables turned, and Otabek himself was murdered and chopped into bits? Is Dasha okay?

     Yuri looks down at his iPhone, which has a picture of Kuznechik as the wallpaper, and reads the time. It is now eight fifty two, and it's officially been eleven minutes of Yuri (im)patiently waiting and worrying. He continues to knock, and begins to turn Otabek's doorknob to try and get his newest friend's attention. To his surprise, his aparment door opens a tiny amount. Yuri slowly wanders in, not wanting to intrude, but also wanting to make sure he is okay.

     "Otabek?" calls Yuri as he steps into the apartment. His eyes search the familiar apartment which Yuri frequently visits now, whether it be for a football game, chicken soup, playing a new video game that has just come out, or passing the time because, unbeknowst to himself, Yuri would rather spend time with Otabek than dilly-dally in his apartment all afternoon.

     His kitchen is empty, but when Yuri turns the corner to face Otabek's white couch, he is absolutely relieved to see his neighbor, fully alive, hastily tying the laces of his running shoes. "Oi, asshole," Yuri stands directly in front of Otabek as he ties his shoes. Yuri's blond hair spills out from the black hood draped over his head as he looks down at his neighbor with a condescending expression on his face.

     "Yuri," Otabek's face meets Yuri's, which, due to the fact that Otabek is seated on the couch and Yuri is standing, is at a much greater height. "How did you get in here?"

     Yuri raises a blond eyebrow. "You didn't hear me come in? Your door was fucking unlocked."

     Otabek laughs this off, raking a hand through his dark hair. "Ah, I must've forgotten to unlock it. Some friends I just made from work suggested we go out drinking after our shift. I drank a little too much."

     "You drink? I thought you were a fucking health nut," says Yuri. Over time, Yuri had begun observing what Otabek eats. Always organic fruits and vegetables, zero junk food _—_ meanwhile, Yuri's diet was the polar opposite.

     "Only once in a while," answers Otabek. "I was totally running late this morning, I'm sorry."

     "You had me waiting outside your door for twenty minutes." Yuri is exaggerating, but either way, he gets the point across to his friend. "I thought something had happened to you. Being late doesn't seem like something you'd do."

     Otabek is flattered at this, because Yuri is displaying the fact that he cares for him, even though it had taken a shit ton of time of them knowing each other to officially become "friends". Two months have passed since Otabek and Yuri met that day, and their friendship is moving at a very gradual pace.

     "You were worried about me?" teases Otabek. He only meant it as a joke, but he finds Yuri's reaction when he says those kinds of things very amusing. Yuri flushes, and _tsks_. "We should get going, we might be late."

     Otabek rises from the couch and slings his bag over his shoulder. He turns to face the window. "Oh, it's raining."

     "No fucking surprise there."

     Yuri and Otabek walk into the elevator, fighting to see who pushes the button first. Otabek wins this time, and Yuri crosses his arms. It's silent for a few moments but then he moves his eyes to face Otabek. His hair is different today. Instead of it being in a bun like always, he has it all raked over to one side, spilling over like a waterfall. The exposed side shows one of the spots he has it shaven, the hairs very short. Otabek's hair is considerably long, down to his shoulders. "Your hair is different today."

     "Ah, you reminded me, thank you," Otabek begins moving his hands through his hair to put it in its usual bun. "I suppose I forgot to tie in back this morning."

     "When it's all down like that, you look like fucking Skrillex," says Yuri.

     "Is that a compliment?"

     "...Yes."

     "Ah, then, thank you." says Otabek.

     More silence. Yuri breaks it by reprimanding Otabek. "You should've told me."

     "Eh?"

     "You should've told me you were going to go drinking last night. I would've made sure you woke up at the right time." Yuri furrows his brows. "I might even be late to my class, which is nothing compared to be late to your job. A job you just _started,_ especially."

     "Yes, Mother," jokes Otabek. Yuri rolls his eyes, but he realizes he does sound like a nagging mother. However, he still feels that his words are true. "Next time I will tell you, so that you can come with us."

     Yuri stops in his tracks. "Wh - that's _not_ what I meant."

     Otabek shrugs. "Even so, you're still welcome to come next time."

     Yuri looks at the elevator hit the second floor.

     "And besides..."

     Yuri looks at Otabek, cyan eyes filled with curiosity.

     "You didn't have to wait for me," says Otabek. He didn't actually mean this. Otabek is still sometimes confused by the messages Yuri sends, so he doesn't want to seem so forward. But, when he tries to pull back, Yuri gets offended and makes it seem like _Otabek_ is the clueless one. It's all extremely confusing for poor Otabek.

     Yuri's eyebrows push together and he looks away from Otabek. It is similar to how he reacted when Otabek questioned their friendship the day of the football game a few weeks before. Otabek has no knowledge of Yuri's previous friendships, and the reservations Yuri had regarding forming friendships that had formed as a result of them. Yuri indeed does want to be Otabek's friend, but often displays insecurity or doubt when it came to it. He still isn't used to the fact that someone wants to friends with him at all. He went about it the wrong way, very often, but then again, Otabek has no knowledge of this.

     The result of Otabek's confusion and Yuri's fear of losing his friend is a horrible miscommunication, misreading of signals, and getting hurt unneccesarily. Otabek said what he said to not seem like the "asshole stalker" Yuri always refers to him as, and Yuri portrayed it as Otabek not wanting to be friends. Communication is not their strong suit.

     "If you don't want to be friends with me," says Yuri, his hands in fists. "you should just say so."

     "Yuri," Otabek grabs Yuri's shoulder and links their eyes. "I want to be your friend."

     "Then why don't you fucking act like it?"

     "Because I thought I was annoying you."

     "Well, you're wrong." Yuri shrugs Otabek's hand off of his shoulder. "Stop saying those things that lead me to believe that."

     Otabek looks to Yuri, then away from him. "You've told me things that led me to believe I was annoying you, as well."

     He does not even have to explain himself, because Yuri is fully aware of what he means. He lets out a sigh and then looks up at Otabek. "Okay."

 

 

 

Yuri follows behind Otabek as they enter his apartment upon returning for the day. "Are we having pizza?" asks Yuri. "We ate your healthy shit yesterday."

     "Fair enough," answers Otabek, who gets his iPhone and dials the pizza place. By now, Otabek knows what toppings Yuri likes, or dislikes, on his pizza. "One large pizza, half cheese, half pepperoni."

     Yuri sits himself down on Otabek's couch and opens his slim laptop on his lap. He lies one leg across the couch, and the other over is draped over the top half of the couch, making Yuri appear like a wide open scissor. "Otabek."

     "Hm?" calls Otabek from the kitchen.

     "Can we play Five Nights at Freddy's?"

     Otabek chuckles as he returns to the couch with two green substances in his hands. Yuri's eyes widen as he makes eye contact with it. "What the fuck is that?"

     "Green smoothie," answers Otabek. "Healthy."

     "What's in this shit?" Yuri picks up the glass, analyzing its contents. "It looks like you blended the Grinch."

     "There's a Grinch arm in there, along with some vegetables." Otabek sits on the couch beside Yuri. "Five Nights at Freddy's, then?"

     "Right," Yuri begins to open the game but he hears the familiar melody of an incoming Skype video call. "Oh, it's Mila!"

     Otabek raises an eyebrow. "Should I _—_ "

     "Stay, stay. Mila is my old classmate from Russia, we'd gone to school together since we were very young, until she moved away." says Yuri. He accepts the call and a pretty, red-headed girl appears on Yuri's laptop screen. " _Privet_ , Mila."

     " _Kak dela,_ Yuri," says Mila, and then she apparently notices that Yuri has a friend with him. "Yuri, who's that? Should I speak En _—_ "

     Yuri shakes his head and begins to speak in Russian. "No need. Mila, this is my friend Otabek. He speaks Russian, as well."

     "Nice to meet you, Otabek," says Mila.

     "Nice to meet you as well."

     "Ah, so stoic~"

     "Mila." Yuri frowns, and then his eyes widen when his other childhood acquaintance, Georgi, comes into view. "Georgi?"

     "Hi, Yuri. I'm here as well." Georgi waves to the camera. "Nice to meet you, Yuri's friend."

     "Hi," says Otabek.

     "Otabek, us three were classmates back in Russia, we always had the same classes together each year until you both moved." Yuri explains and Mila and Georgi nod. "Mila, how is Sara?" asks Yuri. He makes sure to explain to Otabek that Sara is her girlfriend.

     Mila smiles. The sound becomes a bit distorted for a moment as she speaks. "Good, but she is studying abroad at the moment so I miss her."

     Georgi cuts to the chase. "Yuri! We called because we want to visit you."

     Yuri's eyes widen. "Visit me? All the way here? You are fucking crazy."

     Mila frowns. "Oh, please, please, Yuri. We haven't seen you in so long."

     Yuri looks at Otabek and shakes his head. "There's no space to sleep."

     "Air mattress."

     " _Mila._ "

     "Please!"

     "No, Georgi."

     " _Pretty_ please."

     " _No._ "

     "Pretty please, with a pirozhki on top," says Georgi.

     Mila nears her face closer to the camera. "Otabek, Yuri's friend. Help us out here, please."

     Otabek looks at Yuri. "It' d be nice to see your old acquaintances."

     "I can't believe you're taking their side, Otabek," says Yuri.

     Otabek continues on. "Yuri, look how desperate your old classmates are to see you."

     Georgi and Mila put on their most convincing puppy-dog eyes that they can. Yuri looks at them with their bottom lips quivering and pouting. "Ah, fine. But you can find your own ride from the airport."

     "Yuri," Otabek looks at Yuri, his eyes telling him 'find some humanity'.

     "Ah, fine, fine. I'll pick you up."

     "We can't wait to see you, Yuri, and to meet your friend, too." Mila says and Georgi chuckles.

     "Yes, yes, your friend." says Georgi.

     "Quit it, or I'm picking you up on a fucking unicycle,"

     Yuri is just about to end the call because all he wants to do is play Five Night's At Freddy's but Mila has one final word to say. "Ah, and Yuri."

     Yuri lets out a large sigh. "Yes, Mila? Hurry, because all I want to do is play Five Night's At Fucking Freddy's."

     "We'll have a surprise for you, when we arrive."

     "I can't fucking wait."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter wasn't the very best, but it served as kind of a filler episode between events I have planned, and it's been five whole days since I updated, when before I was uploading once daily ahaha. Expect updates once to twice a week from now on, as before, I had the first four chapters already pre-written before I posted it here on AO3. Now, I'm writing in real time so updates won't be as frequent. I am also a full time student, as well so keep that in mind (*¯︶¯*)
> 
> As always, thank you so much for reading, I promise the next chapter will be much better and longer ahaha. Let me know your feedback in the comments, it's always much appreciated!! (♡˙︶˙♡)
> 
> Another reminder that I'm on [Tumblr](https://vityanikiiforov.tumblr.com) as well!


	7. Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i haven't updated in what seems like so long, im sorry (╯︵╰,)  
> i really did need a break, and i'm glad i took it. but i'm ready to keep writing so stay tuned for more updates! probably once to twice a week. i didn't edit the chapter yet so excuse any typos haha.  
> im so excited to get back into writing, and enjoy the chapter :)

**"YOU KNOW I DON'T** have another bedroom in my apartment, right?" says Yuri in his native tongue, with his arms crossed as Mila and Georgi roll their suitcases into his apartment.

     Mila, now only a few years older than Yuri, drops her suitcase abruptly onto the ground. Her red hair is chin-length and wavy, and she has one side shaved, just like Otabek, who she hasn't met in person yet. "We said air mattress, didn't we?"

     "Wouldn't you rather just stay in a hotel—"

     "No," interjects Georgi. "We'll manage, Yuri."

     The three of them turn their heads when they hear someone entering Yuri's doorway. Otabek is holding Kuznechik in his arms. "Eh, Yuri, someone left the door open and the cat got out."

     "You should've closed the fucking door, Mila," Yuri scolds Mila, grabbing Kuznechik from his neighbor's hands. "Thank you, Otabek—"

     " _Otabek!_ " squeals Mila, and wraps an arm around his shoulder. "So _this_ is the handsome Adonis we spoke to on Skype the other day."

     Yuri raises an eyebrow and attempts to peel Mila's arm off of him. "Are you trying to commit adultery on your first day here, _karga_?"

     Mila rolls her eyes. "You know I'm with Sara, who is a fucking woman, _rebenok_."

     "So you're Otabek, nice to meet Yuri's friend." Georgi walks up to Otabek and extends a hand. "I'm Georgi."

     "Otabek," he says stoically, shaking Georgi's hand politely. "Yuri, I'll leave you to your friends—"

     Mila and Georgi grasp at Otabek's arm. He realizes at this moment that Yuri's old classmates are very overbearing and clearly have no concept of the boundaries of invading someone's personal space. "No, Otabek," says Mila. "We'd love for you to stay and hang with us—"

     "Yes, yes, we must get to know Yuri's special friend." Georgi flutters his eyelashes.

     _'Special' friend_?!, thinks Yuri. "Quit fucking touching him," commands Yuri, gripping Mila and Georgi's wrists and taking them off of him. Yuri clearly does not know the boundaries of invading someone's personal space, either.

     " _Alright_ , but you'll stay, won't you? We want to get to know who's been watching over Yuri these past few months," says Georgi, and then he whispers something in Mila's ear.

     "Oi, quit whispering!"

     "Ah, okay," answers Otabek simply.

     "Otabek," Yuri meets his eyes with Otabek's dark ones. "I can't guarantee, or be held legally responsible, whether they do anything illegal."

     Otabek chuckles at this and pats his head. "Do you need help with your things?"

     "What a gentleman."

     "For fuck's sake, Mila," says Yuri.

     Georgi and Mila wish Otabek did not understand Russian so that they could talk about how they envisioned him and Yuri together, so instead they are forced to rely on whispering, suggesting eyebrow raising, and nudges with the elbow. Oh, and phrases like 'special' friend.

     Mila and Georgi remember they left some things in the car and Yuri takes this time to speak with Otabek. Mila and Georgi are being a bit overbearing and he feels the need to apologize for them. "Otabek," says Yuri.

     Otabek looks up from petting Kuznechik. His hair is all down, and brushed over to one side of his head, as Yuri says, 'like Skrillex', and some covers his face as he had leaned down to caress the cat. "Yes?"

     "I'm very sorry for my wildly inappropriate guests," says Yuri, scratching his neck nervously.

     "They are wildly inappropriate."

     Yuri furrows his blond eyebrows together in worry. "You're not going to leave, are you?"

     Otabek stops petting Kuznechik and diverts his full attention to Yuri. At this point, he had become aware of the fact that a fondness for Yuri had been growing in him these past few months, which had only begun as a mere interest. There is no doubting it, but he most definitely had no idea how to go about it.

     The confusion of whether Yuri wanted to be friends or not that had occured before had made Otabek very unsure and confused about their relationship, causing Otabek to now be stuck in this labyrinth. Yuri continues speaking, "I mean," says Yuri, and Otabek stands to face him, his hand holding the edge of the couch beside him. "if you feel like going, I understand."

     Otabek draws in a breath. His heart is racing, his hand trembling. Yuri is looking up at him with an unsure expression, unlike the usual aggressive one he has, or a 'resting bitch face' if you will. "Yuri, I..."

     _Not yet_ , he thinks, _I can't yet._ "I won't leave, don't worry. I really don't mind."

     "Alright, because if you left me stuck with these two for the whole weekend, I'd be pretty fucking mad," says Yuri. "Say, I have a question?"

     _Is he gonna ask me what I was gonna say? Did the look on my face give it away? Is this happening right now?,_ all of these questions and more bounce around the corners of Otabek's mind like the DVD logo when you don't touch the TV screen for a long while.

     "Do you have any spare chicken soup?" asks Yuri.

     An exhale softly escapes Otabek's mouth. He smiles and rakes a hand through his dark brown hair. "No, but I can prepare some for you and Mila and Georgi if you'd like."

     Yuri nods and Otabek motions to exit Yuri's apartment and enter his own across the hallway, but is stopped by a hand grabbing his forearm. He has never had this kind of contact with Yuri, and with an apparent, newfound crush, it definitely enkindled those feelings. "For you, too."

     Based on the puzzled expression on Otabek's face, Yuri understands that his neighbor didn't comprehend what he said. "Make enough for you, too."

     "If you say so," answers Otabek, and he does so with a soft smile on his face.

 

 

" _Vkusno!_ " says Mila, scarfing down Otabek's family's infamous chicken soup.

     " _Vkusno_ , indeed." Georgi (rudely) picks up his bowl to his face and actually _slurps_ the remaining soup with his mouth. Even Yuri, who has had his fair share of moments lacking in manners, thinks that this is excessive. Otabek, on the other hand, is rather patient and would never do what Yuri is about to do.

     "Oi!" Yuri knocks Georgi across the back of the head. "That's fucking disgusting."

     "But _we_ used to do that all the time—"

     " _Da,_ but not in front of Otabek." Yuri is embarrased for his behavior and pulls his black hood even more over his head. Otabek takes a sip of his drink and tries to hide his smile.

     "If anything," says Mila. "he should take it as a compliment. Right, Otabek?"

     Otabek nods absently. "See," she continues. "Besides, in Italy or France or something, it's considered as rude as like, a slap in the face if you don't completely lick your plate clean. _Literally_. If there's even as little as a—a crumb for fuck's sake—on your plate, you're basically telling the chef the food was disgusting and that is considered very, very rude over there."

     "I am just going to completely zone you out because right now you are uttering complete and utter _bullshit_." Yuri waves his hand off/

     "Say, Otabek, how did you two meet?" asks Mila.

     "We're fucking neighbors, Mila," interjects Yuri.

     Mila's blue eyes meet Yuri's with a death glare as scary as the face their old instructor Yakov used to pull whenever they misbehaved back in their schooling days. "Is your name fucking Otabek? No? Because I don't remember fucking asking you the question, I asked Otabek."

     Yuri shudders a bit and goes back to eating his third serving of chicken soup.

     "Ah, I shared my umbrella with him walking on the street, and it turned out we were both on our way to the same place," answers Otabek.

     Mila folds her hands together against the side of her face and flutters her eyelashes. "How chivalrous. And you made all this soup. It is _always_ good to be wit—know someone who cooks, you know?"

     Otabek pushes his eyebrows together in confusion but nods anyway, already having been accustomed to Mila constantly speaking gibberish. It is quite amusing, however. "Quit spewing out nonsense, Mila Ba- _bitch_ -eva."

     "What did you fucking call me?"

     "Mila Ba- _bitch-_ eva."

     "Huh? Say it again."

     "MILA. BA. BITCH. EVA."

     "Get over here, Yuri Pliset- _khuy._ " Otabek recognizes that expletive. His eyes widen when Mila and Yuri began to wrestle. He looks at Georgi to see what his reaction is, and when he sees that he is laughing, Otabek realizes that this must've been a daily occurence between the two when they were younger so he doesn't do much about it besides laugh as well.

     " _Otvyazhis_! _Otvyazhis_!" screams Yuri. Otabek recognizes that expletive as well.

     Mila pins Yuri to the ground for a considerable amount of time, effectively winning their mini wrestling match. They return to the kitchen stools as if nothing ever occured. "Otabek," calls Yuri, breathing heavily. "Fourths, please." Otabek smiles and grabs his bowl, filling it with a fourth serving of chicken soup.

 

 

Yuri, Otabek, Mila and Georgi were just finishing a round of Cards Against Humanity.

     "What is Batman's guilty pleasure?" reads Mila off the card.

     "I have no good cards," says Yuri with a frown, reading his current deck in disappointment.

     Otabek has a poker face on when he hands the card to Mila face down. Yuri and Georgi follow, and Mila cracks her knuckles before reading them all. "What is Batman's guilty pleasure? ...  'Picking up girls at the abortion clinic.' What the actual _fuck_?"

     _Good fucking lord,_ thinks Yuri.

     "What is Batman's guilty pleasure? ... 'Same sex ice dancing.'" Mila stares at the card for a second and then the entire group chuckles. "I can't wait to see who put that. Alright last one... what is Batman's guilty pleasure? ... 'Dead parents.'"

     The entire group erupts in laughter. Mila covers her mouth as she laughs, struggling to catch her breath. "Gentlemen, we have a winner."

     Yuri throws down his deck in defeat and looks around at the group. Mila does the same. "Who put 'dead parents'?"

     Out of the dead silence of the room, Otabek takes the card and adds it to the winning pile. Yuri looks at him with a shocked face. "Otabek! You fucker."

     Otabek shrugs, "I just got lucky."

     "Yuri, what did you put?" asks Georgi.

     "Same sex ice dancing," answers Yuri. "I told you, I had shitty cards. At least it's better than picking up girls at a fucking abortion clinic, Georgi, you're fucking demented."

     Georgi rolls his eyes. "Would you have rather me put 'incest' or 'Auschwitz'?"

     "At least 'same sex ice dancing' is relatively endearing," mumbles Yuri.

     "You think so?" asks Otabek with a smirk on his face. After they tally who won (it was Otabek), he begins to rise from the couch and walks to the coat hanger near the doorway to obtain his jacket.

     "Where are you going?" asks Yuri, following him to the door as Georgi and Mila try and make even more offensive combinations with each other's cards back at the table.

     Otabek slides on his jacket, raking a hand through his hair. "I have to work tonight."

     "It's Saturday."

     "Sometimes I work Saturdays."

     Yuri frowns but nods. "Alright, then."

     "I'll see you tomorrow," Otabek begins to open the door.

     "Wait," Yuri stops him. "Come back here, when you finish your shift. If you want, you know."

     Otabek's eyebrows raise and Yuri's face reddens a bit. Yuri scratches his neck in  nervousness. Unbeknownst to Yuri and Otabek, Mila and Georgi had gone completely silent and had begun observing the conversatio between our two protagonists. Yuri opens his mouth to continue speaking, "You can't leave me alone with them for too long."

     "Right, then, I'll do that." Otabek responds, and then peers at Yuri's face intently. Yuri immediately becomes self-conscious as he does when he is being stared at. He tugs the neckline of his shirt as he does when he is experiencing such emotions and feels somewhat suffocated.

     "What?" asks Yuri, but not with an aggressive tone.

     Otabek's index and middle finger softly touch Yuri's cheek beneath his eye. He holds his fingers up to display whatever was between them. "Eyelash."

     The sudden physical contact made Yuri's face flush, and goosebumps formed on his arms. "Throw it out," mutters Yuri.

     "No, you have to make a wish," answers Otabek. "Have you ever done that?"

     If this was someone else, Yuri would make fun of them for a such a fucking weird idea, but it's Otabek and for that reason, Yuri wants to play along. He does not consciously make this observation, however. "How do you do it?"

     Otabek moves the pale eyelash to his thumb. "Your hand," says Otabek and Yuri lifts his hand up. Otabek takes Yuri's thumb and places it against his own. He presses them together, and once they separate, the eyelash is resting on Yuri's thumb. "Alright, so, it's your wish, then."

     "Because the eyelash landed on my thumb, I get to make the wish?" asks Yuri with wide eyes. "This makes no sense to me."

     "It doesn't make sense to me either, but go on then. Make the wish, then blow it away."

     Yuri closes his eyes, saying the wish in his mind, and then blows the eyelash from his finger. "Will it come true?"

     "If you believe in the power of the mighty eyelash," Otabek says in a mocking tone. Yuri and Otabek laugh, and Yuri punches his arm for being so cheesy. "Alright, I'll see you later today then."

     "Later," Yuri closes the door once Otabek exits.

     A clearing of the throat interrupts the silence and Yuri turns around, raising a blond eyebrow. "Yes, Mila?"

     "Come," Mila says, suddenly having the vibe of an older sister. She pats an empty spot on the couch where her and Georgi are seated like two parents that need to have a 'talk' with their son.

     Yuri sighs. "No."

     "Come." she says in a more aggressive tone.

     "No." Yuri is not one to merely blindly follow instructions. He does not like being told what to do.

     Mila rolls her eyes and slumps her body on the couch. "Georgi and I want to talk to you so get the fuck over here before I drag your by your blond extensions."

     Yuri is sure to grab a water before he trudges to the couch, making sure to seem as uninterested as possible as he takes a seat. "I don't wear fucking extensions."

     Mila and Georgi smile at Yuri, who is very fucking confused. "What?" asks Yuri. "Are you guys getting a fucking divorce? I choose neither of you. I'm getting emancipated."

     "Ha ha ha," says Georgi. "No, we were wondering if Otabek's gay."

     Yuri nearly spits out the water in his mouth. " _HAH_?!"

     "Is he?" Mila continues, genuinely curious.

     "I don't fucking know. Why are you assuming things?" Yuri is increasingly becoming more and more defensive of his friend. Yuri has no problem with whatever Otabek is, but Yuri would never want complete strangers making up things, whatever it may be, about him. "You shouldn't just assume things."

     "You're pretty fucking defensive, Yuri," Mila wags her eyebrows at Yuri. She then reverts back to a more serious demeanor. "But in all seriousness, we think he is because he clearly likes you."

     This time, rather than nearly spitting out his drinks, Yuri actually _does_ carry out this action successfully. Thankfully, no one was affected by it, but it still forced the three to clean up the sticky table and ground later that night. "Why the fuck would he...what even led you two to make this preposterous conclusion?"

     Georgi chuckles, his blue eyes filled with mischief. "It's pretty easy to tell whenever we see you and Otabek talking—I mean, you both turn all red and stuff. It's very sweet."

     Yuri reddens at the mention of this but he does not say anything. Mila adds to their list of reasons. "Otabek always talks to you in this really sweet, gentle way, and he's pretty phlegmatic when it comes to Georgi and I."

     "He's a pretty calm, unemotional guy, for the most part," Yuri contributes and sighs. "If he is gay, then, so what, good for him. But I don't think he's into me."

     "I have two radars, Yuri," explains Mila, beginning to spew out more incoherent nonsense once more. She raises two white fingers from her right hand, which are painted with the letters 'S' and 'A' respectively (her ring and pinky finger are painted with 'R' and 'A'). "One is a gaydar. It works like a charm. It beeped with you, with Sara, with the girl who does my nails, and one more person. Can you guess who?"

     "Otabek," Yuri says after a long, exaggerated sigh.

     "And my _other_ radar is my love-dar. And whenever you two are merely in the same _room_ together, it's beeping more than you and I on the gaydar combined." Mila finishes her statement as if she has just finished giving a scientific presentation.

     Yuri nods and squints his eyes a bit to feign deep thought. "Very thought provoking, Mila. This has given me about 0 more reasons to believe your claim."

     "You know who else my love-dar beeped on? Professor Feltsman and Professor Baranovskaya."

     "They fucking divorced."

     "They got back together." Mila holds her hands together romantically. "But whatever, if you really don't think Otabek likes you, that's fine. You're entitled to your own wrong opinion. But answer me this, do _you_ like him?"

     "Tch,"

     "Come on, really, think." she presses on.

     Yuri sighs. "He's my friend, I..."

     "You turn red anytime he touches you or gets close. I saw that whole eyelash act. You don't think he did that so he could touch your soft cheeks? Or press your hands together all romantically?" Mila apparently is locked and loaded full of evidence to support her hypothesis. Yuri is one skeptical motherfucker.

     "I don't like him like that," Yuri answers. He considers why he acts that way when he and Otabek touch at all. Wouldn't anyone not used that kind of contact react like that, regardless of your attraction to the person? Did Otabek _really_ do all that just for two seconds of touching his face? "Just stop."

     Mila frowns. "Yuri, I'm just trying to play matchmaker here. You and Otabek would be so cute together."

     "Mila, really, stop." Yuri stands up to get another water. Mila is really pushing his buttons and testing his limits at this point. Yuri is _not_ known for having the best temper in the world.

     " _Yuuuuuri_ , come on. I'll be Cupid and shoot you both with an arrow—"

     " _Enough!_ " Yuri yells loudly, causing Georgi and Mila to go completely silent. He has reached his breaking point. "Really, Mila, and honestly both of you. Enough. You've been completely insolent and inappropriate and obnoxious the whole time you've been here. You've embarrased me in front of my friend, you've questioned me about things I'm clearly not comfortable with, fucking wrestled me to the ground all the while I let you stay in my fucking house. I don't really give a shit about all of those things besides you two acting like fucking assholes in front of Otabek. I don't want him to...I finally...I just—I just _don't_ need this from you guys. So fucking get your act together when he comes back tonight because if not I'm kicking you guys out and back to Mother fucking Russia."

     "Yuri..." Mila and Georgi say, but Yuri just drinks his water and puts on the football game, watching the guys in their jerseys kick a black and white ball around.

     Mila and Georgi talk privately in the bathroom, making sure Yuri is not listening. "We fucked up, Georgi."

     "No shit, Sherlock."

     "Georgi," whines Mila. "I just...forgot. I..."

     "Yeah, I know," says Georgi. "I get it now, why he wouldn't be so excited about Otabek liking him or vice versa. I mean, the last time Yuri had a friend at all, that exact thing happened and look how it turned out."

     They are both thinking of Yuri's first genuine, lasting friendship, and first love, that ended only in tears, heartbreak, and condemnation.

     "Shit, then, Georgi. We're in deep, deep shit," Mila bites her lip.

     "I don't think we are, I mean, it's not _that_ bad."

     "No, the other thing."

     "... _Right_." Georgi's blue eyes go as big as Mother fucking Russia. "Shit. Shit. _Shit_."

     Mila shakes her head, and moves her hand to her mouth as she thinks of solutions. "What can we do? Can we...can we just..."

     "We don't really have another option. It's too late," Georgi sighs. " _Shit_."

     "Shit indeed."

 

The rest of the night is quiet for the most part until Otabek returns. He knocks on the door and Yuri allows him inside. "How was it?"

     "Peachy," mumbles Yuri.

     "What's the score?" asks Otabek, removing his jacket and placing it on the coat rack.

     "1-0," answers Yuri, and the two of them take a seat on the couch. Mila and Georgi are terrified and quiet.

     "Are you two alright?" Otabek asks, turning towards Yuri's guests.

     The two of them nod without saying a word.

     "I think they've seen a ghost," shrugs Otabek.

     "Something scary like that," Yuri stares at them and then back at the TV.

     By the time the game finishes, the score is 1-1 to no one's delight. Yuri and Otabek are speaking about the game and what should've, could've, would've been done better if this happened or this didn't, and Mila and Georgi seem very panicked in their hushed conversation.

     It's like this for a while until another knock on the door is heard and Mila and Georgi dart their head to the door with horrified expressions. They have goosebumps, they've gone pale.

     "Did someone order pizza or something?" Yuri asks. No one says a thing. "Mila, could you get it? I don't really feel like getting up."

     "No."

     "It's the _least_ you could do," Yuri is completely surprised after the speech he gave them, that she is still acting like an asshole.

     "No."

     "Georgi?" Yuri asks.

     He only shakes his head.

     Otabek, being the noble, amazing gentleman that he is, begins to stand up. "I can—"

     "No, it's okay, Otabek. I've got it," Yuri stands up from the couch, momentarily giving Mila and Georgi a death stare, and heads to the door. Mila and Georgi have their breath held, staring nervously at the Yuri and door. They truly have no idea what Yuri's reaction will be.

     His feet make a soft sound as they hit the hardwood floor, each step having the same effect a giant's steps would, in Mila and Georgi's tension-filled minds. He scratches his blond hair which is lazily pulled into a ponytail.

     He reaches the door, looking back at the Otabek with a totally confused expression that says 'what the fuck is going on?'

     Yuri's hand turns the knob and he swings the door open, his eyes meeting their unexpected guest.

     Red hair, freckles, and a face that has aged about twelve years since Yuri last saw him. Yuri is speechless, and he recognizes him immediately. A wave of emotions crashed through him, from his chest, spreading to his head, arms and legs. He feels it in his toes against the cold ground and his fingers against the doorknob. He knows it is radiating from his gaze and his open, shocked mouth at the person in front of him.

     Visions of Russia, of cold winters, of dead flowers, tears on his cheeks, a truck driving away, little ten year-old legs running as fast as they can to no avail. Everything comes back to him all at once.

     "Alexei?"


	8. Алексей

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> to make up for so much time passing between chapter 6 and 7, here's a chapter the day after i posted the last one haha!!!

**THE ROOM IS DEAD QUIET**. Yuri is still staring at the person in front of him. It has been twelve years since they last saw each other, yet Yuri was able to recognize who he was on the spot.

     Mila gulps. Her and Georgi stand up from the couch, anticipating what Yuri's reaction would be. They had invited Alexei with good intentions, they thought they would surprise Yuri. Now, they aren't so sure if he would be someone who likes surprises.

     Otabek notices the tension in the entire apartment but he is utterly confused as to what the cause of the tension is. His eyes move to Yuri and Alexei by the door.

     " _Privet_ , Yuri," says Alexei, and wraps him in a hug. Yuri is taken aback by these, and momentarily does not do anything in return.

     _Alexei...is here?_

     Disbelief turns to surprise, and Yuri hugs Alexei in return. He can't find any words to say, however. _Was this the surprise?_ _Is this actually happening_?

     "It's been a while," answers Alexei and pats Yuri's shoulder. "Hasn't it?"

     "I...yeah," mumbles Yuri, brushing some hair behind his ear. "Let me help with your bag—are you—are you _staying_ here, I don't—"

     "I can take the couch," says Alexei. He's tall now, taller than most everyone in the room, and walks over to it, putting his stuff down. He makes eye contact with Otabek, who he hadn't previously noticed was in the room. "Hello."

     Yuri's eyes go big and he quickly trots over to the two of them. "Alexei," says Yuri. "W—"

     "Yuri, please, 'Alyosha'," instructs Alexei. 'Alyosha' is the nickname he was given back when they lived in Russia.

     "Al—Alyosha." It has been years since Yuri used this form of Alexei's name, and it brings even more memories than merely looking at Alexei's face does. "This is my friend, Otabek."

     "Ah," Alexei then switches to speaking English, and extends his hand for Otabek to shake it. "Hi, I'm Alexei."

     Otabek stands up, shakes his hand, and, in fluent Russian, speaks. " _Privet_. I'm Otabek."

     "Oh, that makes it much easier for me," Alexei laughs. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything. Apparently my visiting was supposed to be a surprise."

     "I am most definitely surprised," Yuri glares at Mila and Georgi with an expression neither of them can quite identify. They wonder if Yuri is now even more infuriated with them, or if those negative feelings have dissolved after having seen his first love in the flesh since over a decade. "I'll make some tea. Otabek, mind helping me?"

     "Ah, sure." Otabek follows Yuri into the kitchen. Yuri begins to prepare the tea, nearly dropping one of the five mugs he takes out. He is clearly agitated, and Otabek is able to tell right away. "Yuri, you seem distraught—"

     Otabek is interrupted by Yuri placing a finger to his own mouth, making the hand gesture for 'be quiet'. Otabek understands and goes to helping Yuri make his tea without another word. "I am," whispers Yuri.

     "Because of your friend arriving?" asks Otabek in an equally low volume.

     "I haven't seen him in twelve years," says Yuri, continuing with the tea. "And things between him and I didn't...end well. And seeing him now, I would've..."

     Yuri stops whispering abruptly to Otabek's confusion. That seems like a trending emotion for Otabek during the Russian's visit. "What is it?"

     "I don't want to burden with you for advice."

     "It's no burden, Yuri," answers Otabek. Yuri deeply listens to the way he says it, analyzes his expression, and only finds sincerity in what he has said.

     "I would've thought I'd be ecstatic—jumping for joy," says Yuri. "I just wish I knew he was coming."

     Otabek opens his mouth to ask a question but Yuri is already heading back to the living room with three mugs in his hand. Otabek takes the other two, making sure each person gets one. "Otabek, here," Yuri hands him the last remaining mug.

     "Ah, thanks, Yuri," says Otabek.

     For the next while, they exchange stories from Russia. Yuri apparently misbehaved frequently in school and always made their professor, Yakov, or 'Professor Feltsman', very mad, causing Yuri to always be in trouble. It was quite comedic for Otabek to hear how Yuri was as a child, but the whole time, Otabek kept focusing on Yuri, who continued to seem very uncomfortable and agitated.

     "Yuri, I left that for you," says Alexei, and points to a potted plant on the table. "It's a—"

     "Forget-me-not," answers Yuri stoically.

     " _Da_ , forget-me-not," says Alexei. "Eh, I actually want to talk to Yuri, if that's alright with you three."

     Yuri's eyebrows are pushed together in worry and confusion. Mila and Georgi exchange glances and Otabek looks at Yuri, who is already looking at him. Otabek recalls what Yuri had told him the day before. _'_ _If you left me stuck with these two for the whole weekend, I'd be pretty fucking mad_ '. _'_  He raises his eyebrows in question. _'Are you sure?'_  Yuri is aware that Otabek knows that Yuri is uncomfortable with the whole situation. Nevertheless, Yuri nudges his chin towards the door. _'Just go'._

     "We'll just go to Otabek's apartment, won't we?" Mila takes one arm around Georgi's shoulder and the other around Otabek's, dragging the three of them across the hallway to Otabek's place.

     Yuri watches as the door closes, and then Yuri stares at the ground. Alexei is standing, looking down at Yuri. "Yuri."

     "Yes?"

     "Are you alright?" asks Alexei. He sits beside Yuri. "I feel like things are a bit tense between us."

     "I didn't know you were coming," says Yuri. He tries to indiscreetly move away from him. His heart is racing, palms prespiring, leg continuing to wobble against the ground beneath them. He still is looking at the ground.

     Alexei nods, and runs a hand through his red curls. "I was actually planning on visiting some friends who lived here, and when Mila and Georgi they came up with this whole idea," he says. Yuri internally scoffs and realizes the reason Mila and Georgi had been so keen on visiting now was because Alexei would be here as well. "The last time we saw each other was rather rough, wasn't it?"

     _Psh. Rough. That's a fucking understatement_ , thinks Yuri. He doesn't say anything in response to Alexei decides to continue instead. "Is Otabek more than a friend?"

     Yuri actually makes eye contact with Alexei for the first time since the start of their conversation, but again, no words come out from his mouth. "It's clear he likes you."

     To this, Yuri shakes his head. He's scared of opening his mouth, because he does not know what will come out.

     "In that case, we should pick up things where we left off..." Alexei nears Yuri on the couch, and Yuri draws in a breath when Alexei's hand is placed on Yuri's knee. Yuri stands up precipitously, breathing heavily, looking down at Alexei. Alexei stares up at him in surprise, and then gets on his feet to be level with Yuri. "Yuri?"

     At this point, Yuri is filled with negative emotions. All that happened with Mila and Georgi embarrasing Yuri in front of Otabek, the fucking unexpectedness of Alexei's visit, and the fact that Alexei wants to resume whatever they had without question, has caused Yuri to feel completely vulnerable, upset, and confused—all of the which are emotions Yuri very much dislikes feeling.

     "Yuri, I'm confused," says Alexei, and tries walking toward Yuri again. Yuri begins walking backwards until he hits a wall. Alexei is in front of him with a puzzled expression. Yuri draws in another breath when the person in front of him wraps a hand around his chin. "I've missed you so much."

     "Stop..." whispers Yuri. Alexei doesn't listen and softly places a kiss under his jaw, and soon after has two arms surrounding Yuri against the wall. Yuri feels extremely suffocated and claustrophobic, and he pushes Alexei's chest roughly to increase the space between them. "I said ' _stop_ '."

     Alexei is surprised by this and merely blinks at Yuri who is breathing heavily. "I—"

     "I tried to find you for years and years, and I never found you," says Yuri bitterly. "And you never tried to contact me. Never."

     Alexei frowns and sighs. "At first, my parents never allowed me to find you again. And then they kicked me out of the house."

     "Why didn't you contact me at that point, then?" Yuri's voice is full of anger and pain. It breaks Alexei's heart to hear it, but not more than what he is about to say.

     Alexei gulps. The silence is loud and suffocating. Yuri stares with angry, moist eyes at Alexei, who is nervously touching his neck and fiddling his fingers. "I met someone."

     Yuri looks away from him. He is used to this pattern of being forgotten. He has grown accustomed to it, and he is partially surprised at this, and partially not. "You fell in love again."

     His voice cracks. "Yes."

     "And you broke up and now you're here?"

     "We didn't break up."

     Yuri's eyes go wide with sheer anger and disbelief at what Alexei has done. "Then why the _fuck_ are you doing this to me? Toying with my mind like this? Putting me through this pain all over again? Using me to violate and cheat a bond you have with this other person you've fallen in love with?"

     Alexei, again, is surprised at the reactions that Yuri is having. He thought he would have been welcomed with open arms, even if it had indeed been twelve years. "When I found out Mila and Georgi were going to see you, I just..."

     "I know what you "just". You just hurt me, and now you're hurting another innocent person who loves you. Again. Except I _lov ed_  you. I don't anymore."

     Alexei is hurt by those words, the fact that his love is now unrequited is like glass shards in his heart, although his now has no right to feel this way. "Yuri—"

     "Do you know how long I fucking spent wondering what I did to deserve being completely forgotten by you? I'm used to being abandoned and forgotten and abused. I'm fucking used to it. And you...you were the first person in my whole life that I thought wouldn't abandon me. That maybe people were capable of staying." Yuri had spent all of those years thinking of what he did wrong, why the only person who ever genuinely loved him abandoned him yet again. "I thought that even after that fucking day on the street, with you driving away forever, I thought we would find each other someday after that."

     Alexei opens his mouth to speak, but Yuri doesn't allow it. "No, shut the fuck up. You're a fucking sociopath. Get out."

     He scoffs. "You're asking me to leave?"

     "Yes, get out of my fucking home. I don't want to see, hear, or fucking smell you again." Yuri grabs Alexei's suitcase, throwing in anything he's taken out. "Oh, and this?" Yuri raises the forget-me-not in its ceramic pot. He throws it to the  ground, allowing the pot to break into a million pieces, soil all over the ground.

     "I will. Just tell me this much—"

     "No." Yuri is now zipping up Alexei's suitcase, rolling it to the door.

     "Yuri."

     "No!"

     "It's that friend of yours, isn't it?" Alexei clearly does not have any intention of listening to Yuri's objections.

     "What?" Yuri is be-fucking-fuddled as to why Alexei is bring up Otabek in this conversation that has zero things to do with him.

     Alexei grabs his duffel bag with his hand. "You fucking like him."

     "Why does everyone keep fucking telling me that?"

     "You know it's true, Yuri."

     Yuri opens the door. "Just get out." He watches Alexei step out into the hallway.

     By now, Otabek steps out of the apartment where he and the two other Russians had been waiting for them to finish their conversation. "Be sure to tell your boyfriend what a horrible fucking person you are. He deserves to know the truth," yells Yuri, extending his middle finger at him.

     "Yeah, once you realize what I told you is true," says Alexei. Yuri watches him go. then looks at Otabek.

     _'Once you realize what I told you is true.'_ Yuri makes eye contact with Otabek, who looks completely confused and surprised. The two of them share a moment, with Yuri looking at him, thinking about what Alexei, and frankly Mila and Georgi, have suggested to him, and Otabek looking back at Yuri full of puzzlement as to 1) what the fuck is going on, 2) what the fuck Alexei had been talking about, and 3) why Yuri had such an obscure expression on his face.

     Mila, Georgi emerge from the apartment and Yuri immediately makes eye contact with them both. "Why the _fuck_ did you think I'd want to see him?"

     Mila gulps and Georgi can tell Yuri that Yuri is infuriated, and that the talk hadn't gone well. "We thought it'd be a nice surprise to see your old friend again—"

     "No. No, it wasn't. Now, leave please. Both of you." This surprises not only Mila and Georgi, but Otabek as well.

     Mila frowns. "Yuri—"

     Yuri shakes his head, clearly nothing would convince him to do otherwise. Perhaps if Otabek had talked some sense into him, maybe, but Otabek knew better than to insert himself into someone else's business like that. "No. I'm done. I'm asking nicely, so please, go. I'll at least take you to the airport. Otabek, you'll come with, right?"

     Otabek is relieved at this point that Yuri is mad at every single person except him. "Sure."

 

 

 

They've reached the point in the airport where neither Otabek or Yuri can go any further. Mila and Georgi have all their things ready, ridden with scarves and coats on. "Goodbye," says Yuri.

     Mila walks up to Yuri with sad, regretful eyes. "Let me just say one last thing, Yuri."

     "Mila, please, I want to go home." Yuri is impatiently waiting in front of her, with his hands deep in his coat pockets and his head covered in a slouchy knit winter hat.

      "I want to see you happy, Yuri. You're like my little brother," says Mila sentimentally.

     Yuri rolls his eyes. "Oh, geez."

     "Really, I'm not messing around. I really do care about whether you're happy or not."

     It's a nice statement and Yuri wasn't expecting it. "Well, thanks."

     Mila leans in to Yuri's ear to whisper. "Would it really be the worst thing in the world to be with him?"

     Both Yuri and Mila know who she is talking about. Yuri is so tired after the day he's had so he doesn't have much of a reaction. With that, Mila leaves him a kiss on the cheek and a caress to the side of his face before walking with Georgi to the aeroplane.

     Yuri just watches and Otabek waves to them. Yuri breathes a deep sigh. "Let's go," Yuri says to Otabek. As they walk through the airport, Yuri receives a text from Mila.

 

     Once Yuri and Otabek exit the elevator at their apartment building, they stop in front of each of their respective apartments. "'Night, Yuri."

     "Wait," says Yuri. "Can we watch a movie or something? I've had a shitty day."

     Otabek smiles. "I can tell. And sure."

     Yuri and Otabek pick the first movie they find on Netflix. As they watch, seated next to each other on the couch, it is oddly quiet and calm, something Yuri hasn't experienced these past few days. Yuri has changed into his cat onesie.

     Yuri eyeballs Otabek oddly. "Aren't you going to push and push me to tell you what happened?"

     Otabek raises an eyebrow. "No," his deep voice sounds.

     "You're not curious?"

     "I won't lie and say I'm not, but it's your business."

     Yuri smiles at this. Privacy. Someone who understands boundaries. Another thing he hasn't experienced this past day either. "So I don't have to talk about it?"

     "No, we can just watch this shitty movie," says Otabek. He isn't one hundred percent sure what happened to Yuri, but he has become very good at telling when Yuri is, not angry because Yuri is always clear on that, but uncomfortable, something he won't readily admit to. Yuri knows this, too.

     "Thanks," says Yuri.

     "You're welcome."

     "And..." They watch the movie for a few moments. "Not only for that, but, you helped me while Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dumbass were here."

     Otabek smiles at that.

     "You get me," Yuri says openly. Both of them are surprised at Yuri's openness in this situation, but Yuri is glad that he said it and Otabek's feelings are only proliferated after this conversation. "So, thanks."

     "Of course."

     Both of them continue to watch the movie with Yuri interrupting every few minutes to add his own comment. Otabek isn't the type to talk a lot during movies, or at all, really, but each time Yuri interjects with his personal commentary, he can't help but smile and think it's rather cute.

     Yuri looks down to his phone, unlocking it before re-reading the text Mila has sent. The words repeat in his brain over and over. ' _Would it really be the worst thing in the world to be with him?'_

     _Would it?,_ Yuri asks himself. He looks over at the person beside him, thinking back to all that had happened that day. Otabek stuck with him when he asked him to so that he wouldn't be alone when facing the Russians. Without words, Otabek recognized his reservations when Alexei wanted to speak to him. He didn't force him to recall the shitty events that transpired, either. _He meets me where I am._

     Yuri hadn't wanted to force himself to think about what Mila, Georgi, and Alexei had all theorized—that there was something between Yuri and Otabek, but, here he is, doing just that. For Yuri, there is still no part of him that thinks Otabek is attracted to him. As for Yuri's feelings, he isn't quite aware of it, but this day planted a seed in Yuri that began something that had the possibility of blossoming into something much more.

     His fingers touch the empty text box and he begins typing and hits send.


	9. By The Sea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it took so long to update, but I had writer's block, and then I couldn't find motivation to write but finally here it is :) enjoy!!

**BEACH AIR HITS** their faces as they run along the boardwalk. Yuri and Otabek are running beside each other and Venus is a bit ahead of them.

    "You taught her to run without a leash?" asks Yuri, his blond hair tied in a bun. Otabek breaths heavily as he runs, and merely nods. It's easier than speaking anyway.

    Yuri and Otabek had decided to go for a run this evening. The sun is setting, and the weather is nice out. Otabek looks to his left where Yuri is, eyeing his hairstyle. "I've never seen your hair up like that before."

    Yuri shrugs. "Dasha tied it up like that when we were cooking—it's actually a pretty good way to keep hair out of my face. I thought it was too girly at first but, whatever."

    "Who cares if it's girly or not?" says Otabek in a completely serious tone. "If you like it, do it."

    Yuri smiles. "If you say so."

    Otabek and Yuri pass by many lights that are hung up, food vendors, carnival games, music playing—at the same moment, they realize that there is a festival going on. Apparently it is a holiday of some sort, one neither Yuri or Otabek were aware of. The ferris wheel on the boardwalk isn't on yet, however. It appears that the actual festivities won't begin until later.

    "What holiday is this...?" asks Yuri, completely confused.

    Otabek stops running and walks to a cotton candy vendor. "Excuse me, ma'am." The woman stops what she is doing and faces Otabek. "What holiday is this supposed to be celebrating?"

    "It's Lobsterfest," says the woman. "It's one of our main exports for this town."

    "Eh...okay," Otabek is puzzled but turns back to Yuri to tell him anyway. "Apparently it's Lobsterfest."

    "Lobster what?"

    "Lobsterfest."

    Yuri furrows his eyebrows together. "What the fuck is Lobsterfest? Anyway, I hate lobster."

     Otabek shrugs and the two of them continue to run for a bit. It smells of the sea. A large dog sprints by and Venus begins to follow it. "Venus, wait!" calls Otabek. He and Yuri run to catch up with Otabek's large greyhound. The dog Venus is chasing leads them all down stairs that go down the boardwalk and lead right to the coastline.

     "Venus!" yells Otabek. "Why did I train her to run without a leash, for fuck's sake."

     Someone on the beach throws a frisbee and the dog Venus had been distracted by chases after it instead, leaving Venus to trot back to her owner and Yuri instead.

     "Venus, you naughty girl," Otabek grips her by the collar. Venus, Otabek, and Yuri are all breathing heavily so they all take a seat on the sand.

     Yuri takes a seat first, but Otabek shakes his head. "Closer to the water, I like getting my feet wet."

     Yuri shrugs and the three of them sit along the water where it is repeatedly crashing against the warm sand. The sun is beginning to set so the sky is a beautiful combination of pink, purple, orange, and yellow. Venus lies down and enjoys getting her paws wet as well.

     They sit in silence for a few moments, enjoying the relaxing water hitting the shore. Otabek eyes Yuri, who has a thoughtful expression on his face. The past couple of weeks since Mila, Georgi and Alexei visiting clearly bothered Yuri. Something happened between him and Alexei that Otabek isn't aware of, but he would never pressure him into saying what it is.

     "Yuri."

     Yuri's eyes don't move from the water on his feet. He has been watching the water fizz on his toes, the bubbles dissapating slowly, disappearing into his feet until the next wave of water hits them. "Hm."

     "Are you alright? Since what happened."

     Wind blows both Yuri and Otabek's hair. The air exposes Yuri's entire faces that Otabek rarely sees. It makes his heart beat slightly faster so his eyes move away to the sky instead. Yuri responds with a simple "mhm".

     "Alright," says Otabek. He can tell Yuri doesn't want to talk about it.

     However, Yuri surprises Otabek when he turns to face Otabek and asks a question. "Did I do something to make you think otherwise?"

     Otabek meets his eyes with Yuri's with genuine concern in his expression. "Yes, but I know you didn’t want to talk about it. You said you’re alright, so I won’t mention it."

     Yuri pushes his eyebrows together, clearly not satisfied with the answer he received. "What did I do to make you think I wasn't alright?"

     "You seem kind of down. Just a bit sad, I suppose," answers Otabek honestly. The past few weeks, Yuri, who was usually generally angry, was even less angry and rather just quiet and calm.

     Yuri thinks about this. He just isn't surprised of the way things unraveled with Alexei. Yuri got used to people he thought cared about him completely abandoning him after twenty-one years of that continuously being done to him. But he wishes things were different. Alexei was the only person who made Yuri think people were capable of staying. But yet again, his belief of people being unable to truly stick around was confirmed. "I guess your observations are correct, in this case."

     Otabek thinks Yuri is going to elaborate, but he doesn't, which doesn't surprise Otabek one bit. The following thing Yuri asks, however, does.

     "Where do you see yourself in ten years?" asks Yuri.

     Otabek actually considers this question but the timeframe is too far, in Otabek's opinion, to visualize his future. "I don’t know exactly, it’s in the universe’s hands. I'm just going with the flow."

     Deep inside, Yuri is disappointed by this, but he doesn't say so. "Where you _want_ to be in ten years, I mean."

     It's quiet for a few moments and the only thing filling the silence is the water crashing and the seagulls above them. Yuri is expecting an answer among the lines of, "I'll be in Kazakhstan", or "I want to move somewhere new one day".

     "I wouldn't mind being here."

     Yuri's eyes widen and he looks straight at Otabek's face.

     "I like everything here, even if it’s been less than a year living here, but I like the life I’ve built so far, my job, the people I’ve met," Otabek makes eye contact with Yuri at the last part and Yuri can't help but redden. "So, I wouldn't mind being here in ten years. Maybe I'll be settled down, even in a nice house—I really like the houses here."

     "You wouldn’t mind being _here_ in ten years? Settling down _here_. You would get married and have kids _here_ and stay _here_ forever til you’re old and smelly?"

     Otabek shrugs. "I wouldn't mind that. That sounds kind of nice. But the universe decides these things, you know. That’s why I don’t fixate on them. You shouldn’t either."

     Yuri is aware that Otabek obviously doesn't know of Yuri's past—a past that would cause him to fixate so much on the future, on people and where they would see themselves in ten years. He doesn't know of his mother and father, of Yuri and Alexei's past, on basically everyone in his life and the one thing they all have in common—never staying.

     _I wish it were that easy_ , Yuri thinks _, not fixating on those things_.

     "What about you?" asks Otabek.

     "I'll be here."

     Otabek sensed the inquietude and agitation in his voice. "Yuri, I think, whatever happens, you'll be fine. I promise. My mother always told me this, ‘ _N_ _o matter what you’re going through, everything will always work itself out in the end. Always._ ’"

     Otabek smiles at him, trying to ease whatever Yuri is going through. He is trying his best despite not knowing Yuri's story, and Yuri recognizes this.

     Yuri's mother's words told to him twelve years ago repeat in his head. " _One day, you will meet someone that will make all of this just a distant nightmare, I promise you, Yuri. It may be Alexei, but it may not._ " _It definitely isn't,_ thinks Yuri.

Then, his mind flashes back to the conversation between him and his grandfather on that snowy day four years ago in St. Petersburg.

     _“Yuratchka, you don’t have to go.”_

_“I can’t stay here."_

The wind blows Otabek's hair which brings him back to reality. Otabek is looking straight into the sea at the point, the beachy air blowing Otabek's hair away from his face. Yuri gazes at his profile, his strong jawline, the angle of his nose, his dark eyebrows, his enigmatic but kind eyes watching the ocean. Yuri's heart is beating increasingly fast. He senses a burning in his chest, a burning he can't get rid of.

     Yuri's eyes move down to where Otabek's hand is on the sand, supporting his upper body while he sits. Yuri's hand is on only a few inches from his. When he suddenly has the desire to dig his own hand in the sand underneath Otabek's hand and link their fingers together, Yuri jerks his hand away and places it on his knee. _What. The fuck_. _I can't like him, I can't,_ thinks Yuri. _But..._

 _"Where do you_ want _to be ten years, I mean."_

_"I wouldn't mind being here."_

_But, he's staying._

     Otabek is no longer looking at the ocean and is looking at Yuri instead. By now, the sun is almost completely set. "Yuri."

     A wave crashes on their feet, but they don't break eye contact.

     Yuri gulps and Otabek's lips part to speak. "Yuri, I—"

     They are interrupted by a firework launching into the sky and bursting loudly. Venus barks and runs away, clearly terrified of the loud and intimidating fireworks now launching in the sky. They continue and Otabek and Yuri begin to run after Venus before they even get a chance to enjoy the fireworks.

     Yuri and Otabek manage to catch up to Venus and calm her down, and then the three of them head back to their brick apartment building. The whole time, it is completely silent. Yuri is still completely dumbfounded by what happened, and Otabek is not sure if he is relieved or disappointed of what happened, or if the fireworks interrupted him or _saved_ him. Otabek was going to confess his feelings. He had the words on the tip of his tongue. _Yuri, I like you_. He was going to say it. _Maybe this is a sign,_ thinks Otabek, _maybe now isn't the right time._

     Meanwhile, Yuri's mind is going in circles. _I can't believe I fucking like him_. _I can't believe I fucking like him. I fucking like him. I fucking like him._ However, there is a question Yuri's had since they left the beach.

     "Oi, Otabek," says Yuri.

     "Mm?"

     "What were you going to say?"

     _Is this another sign_?, thinks Otabek. He thinks that maybe it is, or maybe it is a coincidence, and that differentiating between fate and coincidences is very confusing. Nevertheless, he decides against confessing. "I forgot."

     Yuri thinks nothing of this and the two of them head to their respective apartments to shower and wash away all the sand, and all their regrets.

 

 

 

A while later, Yuri has his grandfather on speakerphone while he is reheating some chicken soup Dasha dropped off for him the other day. "Hi, Grandpa."

     “How is my favorite grandson?” asks Nikolai over the phone.

     Yuri furrows his eyebrows together as he transfers some chicken soup from a tupperware to a pot on the stove. “I’m your only grandson.”

     Nikolai laughs. “Ah, well, no matter. How are you, Yuratchka?”

     Yuri turns on the gas and the soup begins to heat up. “I’m good. I have a question. Weren’t you going to study abroad at one point in your life?”

     “Yes.”

     After he checks the door behind him, Yuri recalls how he knows little of this period of time in his grandfather's life which is why he is asking about it. “Why didn’t you?”

     “Well, I met your grandmother.” Yuri smiles at the thought of his late grandmother, Anna. She was always as sweet and kind to Yuri as his grandfather is, but she had died a few years back, even before Yuri left Russia.

     “And then you decided to stay," says Yuri. 'Staying' seems to be a common theme on this day in Yuri's life.

     “I fell in love and it was settled.”

     “That’s it?”

     “Well, I tried to think about living without her and it was unfathromable—excrutiating.” Nikolai's voice is filled with love as he says this, and the sappiness of the tale nearly kills Yuri. In reality, though, these romantic stories warm Yuri's heart—something he would never readily admit to.

     Yuri bites his lip as he ponders. “Without her..."

     “Why do you ask?" asks Nikolai. When he is answered only with silence on Yuri's end, he is sure of the reality of the situation. “Did you meet someone?”

     Yuri opens his mouth in shock out of what he just heard from Nikolai. "How the _fuck_ do you know that?" mouths Yuri so that his grandfather doesn't hear. This time he speaks out loud, however. “What?”

     Nikolai laughs once more. “You’re my grandson, Yuratchka. I know these things when I see them.”

     Yuri makes a _tsk_ sound. “You haven’t _seen_ anything.”

     “Who is he?”

     Yuri covers his face which is becoming red, even though there is no one around to see his flushed cheeks. “Stop, stop!”

     There is a knock on the door. Otabek and Yuri had planned on watching that night's football game together. Watching football together had become a tradition for the two of them.

     Yuri walks over the door to allow Otabek in. His hair is all down this time to one side. "Hey, Skrillex," says Yuri jokingly. As Otabek and Yuri walk back into the apartment, Yuri continues speaking to his grandpa on the phone. “Grandpa, my friend is here.”

     “Okay, okay, bye, Yuratchka," says Nikolai.

     “Bye, Grandpa.” Yuri presses the red, circular end button on his iPhone and pours himself and Otabek bowls of chicken soup.

     Otabek turns the heat off on the stove so that they do not die in a horrible fiery apartment fire.“Your grandpa calls you ‘Yuratchka’?” asks Otabek curiously.

     “Mhm," answers Yuri.

     The two of them sit with their bowls of Dasha's chicken soup and they watch the football game together. After the game finished, the two men were filled with disappointment since their home team lost miserably. Yuri is scrolling aimlessly through Netflix to find something else to watch with Otabek. "Let me know when you see something you like."

     _You_ , Otabek thinks _,_ but it would be far too bold to say this. His eyes brighten when he sees _I Am Legend_. “Ah, that's good, Yura.”

     Yuri clicks it and the loading screen appears. "Alright....Wait, ‘Yura?’”

     Otabek gulps, trying to seem nonchalant when in reality his heart is beating a million times a minute. “I heard 'Yuratchka' and I just thought 'Yura' sounded nice as a nickname.”

     “Ah." Yuri merely nods, but his face is gradually reddening.

     “Would you mind if I called you that?”

     Yuri's stomach flutters. _What am I, a fucking schoolgirl with a crush?_ “Sure….your grandma calls you 'Beka', doesn’t she?”

     “Mm.”

     “Do you like it?”

     “Yes, close friends and family call me that," answers Otabek. He is trying to say, 'Yuri, you're my close friend', but Yuri is thinking that Otabek is trying to say, 'Back off.' Again, communication is clearly not something Otabek and Yuri are good at.

      “Mm.”

     Otabek quickly catches on to the miscommunication. “You can call me that, if you'd like.”

     “Well, I mean…”

     “You should call me it, Yura," answers Otabek. This time, there would be no doubt. “You're my best friend.”

     Yuri's face goes as red as it can possibly go. “Bastard!”

     Otabek is clearly confused by this. “Did I say something wrong? Are not best—”

     “We are, but you don’t just _say_ those things—” Yuri is definitely not used to such, as he would call "sappy", things being said out loud, with a straight face, in such a serious manner.

     Otabek recognizes this and decides to make a joke out of it by pointing out something blatantly obvious. “You’re bright red, Yura.”

     “ _Zatknis_!”


	10. Now What?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's so short, I'm sorry ah :( I'm going to start trying to write longer chapters, I promise :)

**"ARE YOU STILL MAD AT ME?"** asks Mila, who Yuri is currently FaceTiming on his Mac. "It's been weeks."

     A sigh exhales from Yuri's mouth. It has, in fact, been weeks, and Yuri has considered Georgi and Mila's point of view from everything that happened with Alexei. They only had good intentions; that much Yuri could admit. "I suppose not."

     "Fina _lly_ ," says Mila, who dips her head back on her rolling desk chair dramatically, her short red hair flipping backwards in the process. "Give me a second, Yuri. Sara."

     When there is no answer, Mila makes a disappointed face and then opens her mouth to yell once more. " _Sara Babicheva_! Can you bring me water please?"

     "I'm not Babicheva _yet_ ," Sara calls from the distance, and her voice becomes louder when she appears next to Mila on the screen with a glass of iced water. "Hi, Yuri."

     "Hi, Sara," Yuri waves nonchalantly through the camera at Sara, who is already walking away. "Mila."

     "Yes, Yuri?" asks Mila, who is now drinking her water.

     Yuri places a hand on his temple because he knows exactly what reaction awaits him when he tells Mila what he's about to tell her. He currently isn't in the mood for nonsense or being told 'I told you so', but he never really is, either way. Despite this, Yuri knows he will receive it. "I have come to a realization."

     Mila rests her head with both of her hands and makes an amused expression. She raises her eyebrows in expectation, although she already is aware of what Yuri is going to tell her.

     Yuri lets out another exhale. "I think I like Beka."

     "Fina _lly_!" repeats Mila, and adds emphasis to this by kicking the ground, lifting her legs, and spinning around in her chair at a very fast speed that is bound to make her _and_ Yuri dizzy. "And since when do you call him ' _Beka_ '? That's so sweet, you even have pet names now!"

     Yuri reddens at this but doesn't answer. Mila immediately takes notice and a wide smile appears on her face. "Yuri! You're red!"

     " _Zatknis_ ," mumbles Yuri.

     "What are you going to do about it?"

     _Do about it_ , thinks Yuri. He has no idea. Yuri still does not think that Otabek likes him despite the obvious and what Georgi and Mila have told him, and Otabek's sexuality is still unknown to Yuri, as well. "I don't know if he's gay or not."

     Mila's blue eyes roll. "He _is_. I know you're still not sure, but isn't my confirmation enough? You're denying it because you're afraid of getting rejected or abandoned."

     Yuri makes a _tsk_ sound and crosses his arms. "That's not tr—"

     "—Bullshit," Mila calls out correctly. "By the way, what happened with Alexei? You never told me _or_ Georgi."

     Yuri sighs and decides that there is no reason to not tell her. "He started getting all touchy with me as if nothing ever happened, _and_ despite the fact that he had a fucking boyfriend, touching my knee and kissing me and shit."

     Mila's eyes widen. "Well, he and Maksim are not together anymore."  _Maxim_ , thinks Yuri,  _that's his name._

     Yuri is silent; consumed with the thoughts and feelings he had been trying to avoid since what happened, and is visibly disconcerted from talking about it. Mila is aware of this and quickly changes the subject back to what they had been speaking about previously whilst wishing she hadn't brought it up at all. "Say, Yuri, why don't you just ask him?"

     Yuri's white hand strokes his hair out of his face to reveal his surprised expression. "You don't just fucking _ask_ people what their sexuality is right off the bat."

     "That's the thing, it isn't right off the bat. You've both known each other for well over six months, right?" Mila smiles thoughtfully because she has been pleased to see Yuri, who is practically her little brother, have someone who makes him so happy and so easy to blush, since his history with having friends, or more than friends, isn't very reassuring. "Besides, Otabek—or _Beka_ , 'scuse me—seems like the kind of person who wouldn't mind answering that question, especially since you two are so close. I feel like he'd be proud to say it."

     "That's _if_ he's gay."

     "He _is_."

     Yuri looks at his iPhone and reads the time: 19:23. "Mila, I should go."

     "Did I make you mad, Yuri?" Mila's voice sounds whiny, but Yuri is used to this.

     Yuri shakes his head and gives her a small, reassuring smile. "No, Beka was going to help me study."

     " _Ooooh_. Sexy." Mila wags her eyebrows.

     "Not really," Yuri shrugs. " _Poka_ , Mila."

     " _Poka_ , Yuri."

     Yuri shuts his laptop and holds in with one arm, and picks up Kuznechik with the other. "Let's go, Kuz. You have a date with Angus."

    

 

Yuri knocks on Otabek's door but it opens instead. "Guess he's just letting me in," mumbles Yuri to himself, and he allows himself inside. Kuznechik elegantly drops herself to the ground, immediately going toward Angus.

     Yuri sets down his Mac on kitchen island and sits on the stool. He opens the lid and pulls up the website for his test's study guide. "Beka, where are you? We have a shit ton of dog anatomy to learn—"

     The bathroom door opens and Otabek emerges, wearing a towel wrapped around his waist, and only that. In a split second, Yuri ogles over his chiseled body and then turns away, slapping his laptop closed for some odd reason in the midst of it all. "Otabek?"

     "Shit, sorry—I—"

     "It's my fault—I just barged in," Yuri turns back to face him. Otabek is already heading up the stairs of the mezzanine to his bedroom.

     "In your defense, I accidentally left my door unlocked," explains Otabek, who takes some clothing into his hands. "I'm going to put clothes on."

     The bathroom door closes again and Yuri is left speechless. _Holy fucking shit_ , thinks Yuri, _I was checking him out. He looks like fucking Hercules._ He shakes those thoughts out of his mind and soon enough Otabek returns, fully clothed, to Yuri's disappointment—I mean, relief. Yes, relief.

     Otabek goes down the stairs, fully clothed, and heads to the kitchen. "Yura, do you want something to drink?"

     Yuri particularly likes the sound of Yuri's name, specifically 'Yur _a_ ', when it comes out of Otabek's mouth; his gruff voice made it sound very intimate to Yuri as well. "Water."

     As he is getting the drink, Yuri's brain is still pulsing. _Oh my fucking word, he looks like Michaelangelo's fucking David sculpture._ He is too distracted by his thoughts to realize Otabek is in front of him with a glass of water gradually freezing his hand as he waits to give it to Yuri. "Yura?"

     "Huh?" Yuri is brought back to reality. "Oh, thank you."

     He takes the glass and takes a long sip of it, hoping that will bring him back to Earth. Otabek sits beside Yuri and slides his Mac over in front of him. Otabek lifts the lid and raises an eyebrow when he is prompted to enter a password.

     "It's—"

     "Wait," says Otabek. "Let me try to guess."

     Yuri gulps. "Okay."

     Otabek purses his lips and looks up as he thinks of potential phrases and numbers that are of importance to Yuri. Otabek enters "0103" but it is incorrect. Yuri shakes his head. "It's not my birthday."

     This time, Otabek types in the word "Kuznechik".

     "Shit," says Yuri.

     "You should come up with a better password."

     " _You_ should come up with a better password," retorts Yuri.

     "Mine is pretty good."

     "What is it?"

     "Try to guess."

     "Eh...3110?"

     "Nope."

     "Angus? Venus?" Yuri guesses. Otabek shakes his head in response to both guesses and Yuri shrugs. "I'm out of ideas."

     Otabek opens Safari to where Yuri had previously opened the study guide. "Okay, Yura, let's study."

 

 

 

Afterward, Yuri feels confident about his test tomorrow and Otabek now knows more about the anatomy of a dog than the average physical therapist. He slams the lid of the Mac closed and throws himself on Otabek's couch where Kuznechik and Angus were previously napping. Both cats jump off in annoyance of their disturbed slumber. " _Prosti,_ cats," says Yuri in Russian.

     "Oi, Beka, can I put—"

     "Whatever is fine," calls Otabek from the kitchen. Yuri furrows his brows in confusion because Otabek has _never_ interrupted Yuri, Yuri himself is usually the one to do that. Yuri can immediately tell something is up. However, he chooses not to say anything and does as he is told, and puts on whatever he wanted to watch.

     Otabek had remained in the kitchen for a few moments and hadn't joined Yuri on the couch, causing Yuri to feel even more puzzled. All of this is because at the current moment, deep in Otabek's mind, he is giving himself a pep talk to tell Yuri something.

     _It'll be fine_ , Otabek tells himself, _whatever happens, it'll all be fine_. Otabek gulps and then moves his feet towards the couch Yuri is seated on. He does not sit, but he leans against the wall and faces Yuri. “Hey, Yura.”

     “Yeh?” Yuri is currently very invested in the show he is watching.

     Otabek takes a deep breath. The only sound in the room is the people talking on the television. “Can I talk to you?”

     “Yeh sure,” says Yuri.

     Otabek pushes his eyebrows together. “Seriously,”

     Yuri turns to face him and shuts off the television all in one motion. Yuri looks straight into his dark eyes that he adores. "Is everything okay?”

     Otabek nods softly and fiddles with his fingers. His heart is beating quickly, and he cannot stop fidgeting. “Yeah, I just wanted to tell you something.”

     Yuri, who has his legs crossed on the couch at the moment, shifts is whole body to face Otabek completely. “Right, go on then.”

     “Um…”

     Yuri's eyes widen because he is realizing the seriousness of whatever Otabek is going to tell him. He is usually eloquent and clear in the way he speaks, and never seems so anxious or nervous as he is now. “Beka, I've never seen you like this before," says Yuri with a small smirk.

      Otabek frowns. “Don't make fun of me, Yura.”

     Yuri reciprocates and makes the same facial expression as his best friend and crush. “I'm not,” says Yuri. This time, he stands up from the couch in order to be on the same level as Otabek. He nears him and makes sure his voice and his expression are as honest and serious as he can muster. "You can tell me anything. So there's no need to be nervous.”

     This does the trick for Otabek, and the words fall out of his mouth like all the lettuce and meat and cheese when you take a bite into a taco. “I'm gay.”

     Yuri's mind wanders back to his video chat conversation with Mila earlier today. _Well, her gaydar's pretty fucking accurate, I'll have to tell her that_ , is the first thing Yuri thinks. Otabek has an expectant look on his face and Yuri realizes he hasn't responded, and then the second thing he realizes is that he has a _smile_ on his face. "Okay. Thanks for telling me.”

     _Well, I'm not a fucking moron. I'm smiling because the guy I like likes guys._

     Yuri pulls Otabek in for a bro-hug, and Otabek seems surprised but delighted at the same time. "I—" Otabek seems taken aback by Yuri's reaction. "I wasn't sure of what your reaction would be."

     Yuri chuckles. "I don't blame you, I am fucking _Russian_."

     Otabek raises his eyebrows. “But, you’re cool with it?”

     Yuri rolls his eyes and nods. “Of course.”

     “Are you gonna start acting all awkward around me now?” asks Otabek, who is now smiling too.

     “Oh, yeah, _totally_ ," teases Yuri.

     Otabek rolls his eyes too and slumps onto the couch. "Now, what shit were you watching again?"

     "Rick and Morty is _not_ shit," says Yuri, who sits alongside him. All the while. Yuri's heartbeat is extremely fast. Being in such close vicinity of Otabek, who Yuri now knows is _gay_ —which means that him and Yuri is a possibility—makes Yuri even more nervous around him than usual. _Alright_ , _he's gay_ , thinks Yuri.

     _Now what?_

 


	11. Can You Hear My Heartbeat?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> trigger warning for this chapter: 
> 
> mentions of past suicide, abusive relationship, alcoholism, infidelity (in a flashback, kinda).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to make this chapter longer, it's twice the normal length so I hope you guys enjoy the extra length! =)  
> also! I may or may not have listened to Rainy Day from Animal Crossing while writing this. ;-;  
> enjoy!!!

**"WHAT'S THE NAME** of this place again?" asks Yuri as him and Otabek waiting at the railway station for their train to arrive. They are standing beside each other, covered in jackets because of the rather cool weather.

     Otabek peers down at his iPhone screen and squints as he reads the words. " _Paws_ itively Sweet Bakery."

     Yuri raises an eyebrow. "That's the lamest thing I've ever heard."

     Otabek merely shrugs, and the both of them stare beyond the empty tracks in front of them. The reason for their rather rare visit to the train station today is the fact that they had recently discovered a bakery—the aforementioned 'Pawsitively Sweet Bakery'—that is famous for making treats that are safe for animals such as Venus, Angus and Kuznechik. The location so happens to be not in walking distance, and Yuri and Otabek decided that the use of the train was the best choice.

     Yuri bites his lip as he tries to remember a certain fact. "I haven't used the tube in ages."

     "Really? In how long?"

     "Since I went to the airport to pick up my grandfather," recalls Yuri. He remembers that day clearly. "But that was over two years ago. No, three. Four?"

     Otabek watches Yuri intently as he speaks. He has become quite adroit at recognizing Yuri's common expressions and gestures. Yuri sucks his bottom lip in between his teeth and looks up, which Otabek already knows means that he is trying to recall something. "Ah, right. It was two years ago because I remember celebrating my nineteenth birthday with him that year."

     _He's 21,_ registers Otabek. "When is your birthday?"

     Yuri lifts three fingers on his left hand and one finger on his right hand. "1st of March. Yours?"

     "I most definitely do not have enough fingers to display it to you," says Otabek. "but it's on the 31st of October."

     Yuri's blue-green eyes widen. "Halloween? That's so badass."

     Otabek chuckles and immediately after, the train arrives and the passengers exit, allowing the next crowd of passengers, including Yuri and Otabek, to enter the train. Yuri frowns in disappointment when there are no more seats available and only poles or handles to hold on to. "I can't _stand_ this."

     Yuri and Otabek stand and hold on to the upper handles. Otabek smirks at Yuri because he isn't sure if Yuri realized the joke he made. "Yura," says Otabek. "Was that pun intended?"

     His eyes roll as sarcastically as possible. " _No,_ it wasn't. How long is this ride going to be?"

     Otabek shrugs. "It really isn't all that bad."

     Yuri looks at him momentarily. "You're quite positive, aren't you? And not in the bullshitty way that everyone goes on about these days. But like, I bet if you lost a leg, you'd say 'hey, I can get shoes for the half the price now'."

     Otabek laughs at this and looks down at his phone momentarily as he listens to music from it. Yuri does the same, and asks another question. "What are you listening to?"

     Yuri's best friend lifts his phone screen to show Yuri the song that is playing. Yuri squints as he reads it and then his eyes move back to Otabek's and he nods. Otabek smiles. "Would you like to listen?"

     A mere nod is all Otabek needs to lift the other unused headphone—since Otabek is only wearing one—and hand place it directly in Yuri's ear. The unexpectedly intimate gesture causes Yuri's ears to redden and he adjusts the headphone in his ear.

     They wobble slightly as the train goes across the railway and listen to music in silence until they arrive at their destination. The bakery is only a few minutes walk which is something the both of them are used to. As they exit the train, it begins to rain. "Eh, Beka..."

     "I got it." Otabek fishes his trusty black umbrella out, immediately giving cover to both Yuri and himself. This is one of things Otabek enjoyed doing the most with Yuri; it gave him the opportunity to be close to him, and it also represented how everything started. With that black umbrella. And an unwavering persistence to share said umbrella with a certain blond Russian. "Say, Yura."

     "Hm?"

     Otabek softly wobbles the umbrella for the same reason one would fidget their fingers. "Why don't you ever use an umbrella?"

     Yuri scoffs, and adjusts the black hood on his head. "The last time I tried to buy one, it was twenty fucking quid. Not worth it."

     "I mean, I guess so," says Otabek. "And you are in uni after all, I'd imagine a purchase like that wouldn't nearly be as important as, say—"

     "Textbooks. Food. Rent."

     A smile appears on Otabek's face. "Look at that." Otabek points to someone _literally_ giving away free umbrellas. "Yura?"

     Yuri eyes the free umbrellas and shrugs. "Eh. I mean, I have you."

     Otabek closes the umbrella and they arrive at the bakery. There are a handful of people in line and Yuri groans at this. "It's not like we're in a rush," says Otabek.

     Yuri only makes a face at him and then peers at the logo. "Pawsitively Sweet," mumbles Yuri. "There's a fucking pawprint on the logo."

     "It's aw- _fur_ -lly cute," Otabek attempts to make a joke and Yuri's expression shows him that he is completely and utterly _done._ "Sorry."

     Yuri and Otabek make it to the front of the line and they both read off the menu. "All of this," says Yuri, making eye contact with the baker who is assisting them. "is the selection for _animals_?" The baker nods in return and Yuri's eyes widen and he nods. "Alright, then, Kuz and Angus will take the chicken cupcake."

     "Deciding for my cat?" asks Otabek playfully. "And, wait, _chicken_ cupcake?"

     "How many cats have you seen begging to eat a cupcake rather than a piece of chicken?" Yuri crosses his arms and then looks expectantly at Otabek. "What're you getting for the dog?"

     "Venus."

     "Right, right,"

     Otabek strokes the stubble on his chin and Yuri watches Otabek's dark eyes scan the menu. Yuri very much admires Otabek's eyes: their color, their shape, the way they move, the eyelashes that frame them, everything. "Eh, Vee can have a red velvet cupcake, I suppose."

     "Anything for you two, then?" asks the baker, who is beginning to pack away their selected items.

     Yuri and Otabek exchange confused glances. "You mean, you serve human food as well?" asks Yuri. The baker nods at this and Yuri is not entirely sure how good a pastry from a bakery that specializes in animal treats will taste, but he will get something anyway. "I'll have a vanilla cupcake—for humans."

     "Red velvet for me." Otabek gives his card to the baker and then takes the bag full of animal and human-friendly treats. By the time they leave the bakery, it has stopped raining.

     Yuri furrows his brows, looking back behind him and back at Otabek. "Wait, let me pay for my things."

     Otabek waves his hand and shakes his head in refusal. "It's my treat. _Literally_."

     "Beka," frowns Yuri. He stops walking momentarily and tilts his head a bit, pouting at him. "You don't have to."

     In that moment, Otabek thinks Yuri looks very cute with a concerned look on his face, and his head tilted to the side, he almost looks like a kitten. Otabek _wants_ to take some blond hair that is in his face and tuck it behind his ear, and then caress his cheek in the process, but Otabek doesn't. Instead, he smiles as kindly as he can, which if you know Otabek, you'll know he rarely smiles at all. "But I want to."

     Yuri rolls his eyes. " _Fine_. Thank you. But I will somehow slip the money back into your wallet when you're not looking."

     Otabek shakes his head and smiles, and then sees a quite extravagant fountain where there are no people sitting. It has quite a large circumfrence, and there are a few birds on the ground beneath it just enjoying the beautiful view of the fountain. "Yura, let's eat here."

     "Alright."

     The both of them head towards it, and before Otabek motions to sit, he fishes out two coins from his wallet. He actually takes Yuri's hand and places one coin in it, and has the other coin in his hand. Yuri, of course, enjoys the brief moment of touch that they had just then, but is still far too shy to say anything about it. "Making a wish?" asks Yuri.

     Otabek nods. "Wish for anything you want."

     Yuri and Otabek both momentarily close their eyes as they make their wish, and then throw the coins into the fountain, each making a small splash. "I hope they come true," says Otabek.

     "You're quite cheesy sometimes, aren't you?" says Yuri as the two of them sit on the fountain and begin to eat their cupcakes.

     Otabek smiles, and does not deny this. Each one takes a bite of their cupcakes, and they both have the same reaction: mediocre. "Hm," says Otabek. "I don't know what I was expecting."

     "I'm guessing they put more effort into the animal cupcakes," Yuri shrugs. "How's yours?"

     "Nothing special." Otabek rotates the cupcake a bit in Yuri's direction. "Would you like to try?"

     "Sure," says Yuri, and he leans over and takes a bite out of it. Otabek wasn't expecting this, but he is quite amused by it. "Yep, you're right. Nothing special. Would you like to try mine?"

     Otabek tries Yuri's cupcake in the same manner Yuri tried his. He inevitably gets a bit of frosting on his nose which Yuri teases him for.

     Since Otabek has come out to Yuri, the two have become much more comfortable with each other in a platonic sense, even though both want to cross the line between friends and _more_ than friends, but neither of them is aware of those returned feelings. When two people who like each other both don't know their feelings are reciprocated and are too shy to ask—that is just the most unnerving situation, isn't it?

     The moment Otabek told Yuri, Yuri had felt an enormous sense of guilt, because Otabek trusted him with a piece of information so personal, and Yuri wanted to do something in return. His hands are now shaking as he sits back on the fountain from throwing out both him and Otabek's shitty cupcake's liners. Otabek begins saying something, but is interrupted by a shaking, timorous Yuri. "Beka."

     "Yes, Yura?"

     Yuri sucks in a breath, and exhales it out slowly. "I really was happy when you came out to me. I know it's a really deep, personal thing and the fact you trust me with it means a lot."

     Otabek opens his mouth but is once again interrupted. "—I want to do the same. I'll tell you something I've never told anyone."

     Otabek watches Yuri in shock. This is unlike Yuri's personality, and he is very taken aback by it all. "You don't have to feel pressured to tell me something just because I did."

     Yuri shakes his head. "I want to. Besides, I never told you what had happened with Alexei, which I don't think is fair. And don't say it wasn't your business, because you were _there_ when it all happened. So...I'll tell you."

     And so, Yuri tells him the whole story of what happened with Alexei that Otabek wasn't aware of: the fact that they were each other's silly crushes when they were young, how badly Alexei mistreated him, what Alexei attempted during upon seeing Yuri again twelve years later, everything.

     Otabek is a very considerate and thoughtful person, so with the things Yuri has told him, he not only understands Yuri, was maybe not in love, but had some kind of feelings for a man at some point in his life, which was reassuring to Otabek, but also that Yuri has experienced being hurt deeply by someone he trusts. Otabek decides that he will approach pursuing Yuri with patience. "So your father, Konstantin, really didn't help with you making friends when you were young?" asks Otabek.

     "Fuck no. And I don't refer to him as my father. As far as I'm concerned, I have no father." Yuri rests his head on his hands, with his elbows against his knees. "Konstantin was a horrible and abusive husband to my mother. And an bad-tempered alcoholic. Really fits the stereoype, huh?" Yuri chuckles, but it comes off as sad, almost. "My mother always stayed with him, but you couldn't blame her. She married my father very young to escape an abusive home and family, only to be married into another one. Konstantin was a "good" husband at first, until he stopped pretending to be someone else and started becoming his true, shitty self. But love is blind..."

     "Yuri—"

     "He cheated on her when I was still very young, maybe eleven. Mum and I had just come home from the park and then, right on the living room couch...it took me _years_ to get that image out of my head, and it still hasn't gone away. It infuriates me." Yuri stares angrily to the ground beyond him. "My mother _still_ wanted to be with him, but he chose the mistress. They even decided to get married."

     Otabek is speechless. What do you even _say_ in this situation? "Sorry about your shitty and traumatic life?" "Did you and him ever speak again after that?"

     "I have no desire to resolve anything with him, or to see him, or to know anything about him." Yuri says dryly.

     "I've never met my father." says Otabek matter-of-factly. "He left shortly after I was born. I was even named after him, to my mother's dismay. I tried to reach out to him, but my mother absolutely refused to help and my own efforts were unsuccessful. But, I didn't want to see him because I wanted to know him, I just wanted to tell him that I grew up just fine without a father and only a mother—that I didn't need him. But it never happened, and I've moved past that. Besides, my mother remarried and I have two younger half-sisters now."

     Yuri's eyes widen. First off, he is completely surprised as to how Otabek is not a furious, always mad person like Yuri after a shitty childhood like that. Second, there are two, mini female versions of Otabek in the world? "Do you like your step-father? And _two_  sisters?!"

     Otabek nods. "I don't even refer to him as that, he's basically my father. But he's great. And my sisters are not my half-sisters either, just my sisters. And yes, they are quite a riot."

     Yuri bites his lip. There is just one more thing to say that he initally decided to omit from everything he'd told Otabek. But, Yuri decides to _fuck it_ , and tell him. "Once Konstantin and the mistress began living together, it was just me and my mum. Even before Konstantin left my mum, every morning, I would wake up to the smell of breakfast cooking. My mum would be in the kitchen, singing off-key at the top of her lungs, or listening to music, or watching cartoons she knows were my favorite on the television. But every morning, I'd wake up to that. Mum would always have sunflowers on the kitchen table—she had always called me her 'sunflower'—and my breakfast waiting. It was one of my favorite memories from childhood."

     "That's sweet."

     The warm expression Yuri had on his face while recollecting sweet memories vanishes, and is replaced with a cold look. "The evening before Konstantin and his mistress' wedding, I decided to sleep with my mum in her bed. I knew she'd feel especially lonely that day. I made sure to tell her I loved her before we said goodnight, and the next day, I'd be sure to make her feel as loved as possible."

     There is a few seconds of silence as Yuri continues to stare into space. Otabek is concerned at this point, because he isn't sure what Yuri is going to say next. "I woke up that morning, but something was different. There was no singing, or music on, or cartoons playing, or smell of a homecooked breakfast. I looked beside me on the bed, and there my mother was, still asleep. I moved my hand to her shoulder to wake her, but there was no response. Air wasn't coming out from her nose. Her chest wasn't lifting up and down as her lungs filled with oxygen. She was cold."

     Otabek's jaw drops and realizes the severity of what Yuri just told him. Yuri woke up to his dead mother beside him the day of her husband's wedding to his mistress.

     "Later, the police said the bottle of her depression medication was completely empty," mumbles Yuri. There is a _long_ period of silence and then Yuri finally looks at Otabek. "So that's what I wanted to tell you."

     Yuri's eyes are moist and lachrymose. He isn't crying, but his soul certainly wants to. Yuri stands and motions for them to go, but he is surprised, however, when Otabek stands up and hugs Yuri. Yuri's head rests right against Otabek's chest. "Beka—"

     Otabek continues, and Yuri just stares into Otabek's chest with his arms limp at his sides. He is filled with so much emotion after recalling these events he has been constantly trying to forget the past few years, that he accepts the fact that a hug is exactly what he needs most in the world right now—but it can only be from one person.

     Yuri slowly wraps his arms around Otabek and blinks away the moistness from his eyes. He acknowledges how cheesy this is, but Yuri feels the best he's ever been in Otabek's embrace. Yuri's own heart is beating so quickly that he can almost hear it, and he feels it. He lets out a small exhale when Otabek's hand moves the hood from Yuri's head and his fingers are entangled in his hair. Yuri closes his eyes, and then he focuses on a sound coming from Otabek's chest: his heartbeat. It's fast, too, but Yuri's eyes open wide once he realizes something.

     They're beating at the same time.

     Otabek realizes this, too, and he can only think of one thing. _Well, shit_ , he thinks. _I love him._ Otabek separates the hug and then looks straight at Yuri's face. "Beka, I really needed that hug, so, thank you," says Yuri. "I...you're....we...."

     Otabek smiles at him. "Let's get going, we have hungry pets waiting at home...Rapunzel."

     " _HAH?!_ "

    

 

After Otabek and Yuri gave the pets their cupcakes—Venus ate hers all the way, and the cats merely sniffed them and then walked away—Otabek went to the gym and Yuri stayed in to study for the evening.

     As he is reading through his textbook, there is a knock on the door. Yuri responds to it, and it is his favorite Kazakh woman on the planet. Dasha.

     "Hi, Dasha. Beka's not here—"

     "Yuri, I'd like to speak with _you_. Is that alright?" asks Dasha. She is dressed quite nicely.

     Yuri motions for her to come in. "Of course. You look very nice this evening. Special occasion?"

     Dasha nods, setting down her purse on the coffee table. "I just came back from the opera. It was lovely."

     By now, after knowing each other for over half a year, Dasha had become a like a grandmother to Yuri, and vice versa. Besides, Dasha came to visit Otabek several times a week, which in turn meant that Dasha was really in fact visiting Otabek _and_ Yuri several times a week. Dasha continues, "I want to be candid with you, and tell me if I'm wrong."

     Yuri pours two glasses of water for the two of them and hands it to Dasha as he speaks. "Alright."

     Dasha has some of her water, leaving a mark of red lipstick on the edge of the glass. “I’m not blind, Yuri, I know what’s going on between you and Beka.” Yuri almost spits out his drink like in the movies. "You both clearly care for each other, and I...I will be going back to Kazakhstan soon ad I won't be able to tell you this while I'm there, but...I want you to pursue him. I want to see Otabek happy, and I know he cares for you immensely. You both really are destined for each other, at least I believe so. I don't know if—"

     "You're not wrong, at least not on my part," Yuri confirms his feelings for Otabek to Dasha, so that there is no doubt or confusion whatsoever. 

     Dasha smiles a knowing smile. "That makes me happy, Yuri, also because I knew I was right. But mainly because of Beka."

     Yuri chuckles. _That's definitely something Dasha would say_ , he thinks. But then, Yuri realizes Dasha now knows of his feelings and he isn't sure if she is the kind of person that would keep it to herself, or try to move things along with Otabek and tell him herself. Yuri gulps, "You musn't tell anyone—"

     Dasha shakes her head profusely. "Oh, no, Yuri. I won't tell a soul." She sits closer to Yuri and has a serious but caring look on her face. "I just hope you know it's not unrequited, trust me."

     _Not unrequited, huh?,_ thinks Yuri. _Wouldn't that be nice?_

     That night, Yuri cannot wipe the smile off the face or fall asleep because he is consumed by thoughts of what Dasha has told him, and the hug they exchanged. _Our heartbeats_ , recalls Yuri, _they were beating together._

 

 

"Grandma? You were at Yuri's?" asks Otabek, when he opens his apartment door and notices Dasha exiting from his best friend's place across the hallway.

     Dasha nods, adjusting her faux fur jacket. It's quite elegant, but then again, Dasha is a quite elegant person. "Yes, I was. Now come, come, how was your day today, my Otabear?"

     Otabek chuckles at the nickname he has received from his grandmother. "It was..." Otabek recalls the same thing Yuri is thinking about at the same moment only a few feet away. That _hug_. "...it was good, thank you. How was the opera?"

     "Fantastic, beautiful, wonderful," says Dasha, and Otabek, who obviously has known his grandmother his whole life so he knows all of her tendencies, notices Dasha is clearly going to change the subject very soon. "Say, Beka..."

     "Yes?" Otabek asks, with an expectant smile on his face. _What will it be this time?"_

Dasha raises an eyebrow. "What's that smile?"

     "Oh, nothing."

     " _Otabek Altin_."

     Otabek raises his hands in defeat. "Nothing, I just know you're coming up with another scheme of some sort."

     Dasha crosses her arms. "If you consider my grandson's happiness a _scheme_ , then so be it. I am scheming."

     This piques Otabek's curiosity so he raises a single eyebrow and crosses his arms as well. "My happiness?"

     Dasha smiles at her grandson and ruffles his hair. "Tell me, how do you feel about Yuri?"

     The bluntness of the question doesn't surprise Otabek, as he is accustomed to this behavior from Dasha, but the content of the question does. Otabek, however, is not one to lie to his own grandmother. "It appears that I have fallen in love with him."

     "You only _just_ realized this?"

     "Well, yeah—"

     "You've been in _love_ with that boy since I was first introduced to him." says Dasha.

     Otabek ponders this. The day Dasha is referencing was many months ago. Otabek does not know the moment he fell in love with Yuri, but he certainly knows the moment he realized it. "Alright, well, what are you going to do with this information?"

     "Go for it, Beka," Dasha says with a smirk on her face. "I'm rooting for you both. You have to fight for what you want."

     Otabek looks at his apartment door. Yuri is only a few feet away. Unbeknownst to either of them, they are closer than they think, connected by a transcendent force...

     Like a red string, tying the two of them together in an inseparable bond.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did you guys enjoy the reappearance of 'Rapunzel' haha!!! It's small but several of you said you missed it, so here it is :) I hope you guys enjoy and I'll see you for chapter 12!


	12. The Red String of Fate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *** quick psa: In case you hadn't noticed, I did change my username/url to vityanikiiforov for certain reasons, (I used to be zoebun). My Tumblr changed to the same thing as well, just FYI :-) ***
> 
> omg ;_; I took so long to update. But it's here! let me know what you think in the comments as always, I love hearing what you guys like/didn't like and what I can do to write better. :-)

**THE RED STRING** is tugs slightly, causing Yuri to jerk awake. His eyes immediately move to his iPhone screen. Yuri squints at the brightness of it but then his eyes open up wide when he reads the date.

     _30 October_

     Yuri rips his sheets off of his body and begins pacing his room. "I didn't buy him a fucking gift," he mumbles to himelf. Yuri's mind goes in circles. He chastizes himself for waiting until the very last minute to buy his _best friend_ slash crush a gift. Yuri rubs his temples and then takes a deep breath. "Okay, okay, I'll just go to the shops and find something." Yuri nods to himself, argeeing with his plan. "Yeah. Yeah."

     Today is a weekday so Otabek is working, but thankfully Yuri does not have any class today. This relieves Yuri because Otabek won't notice Yuri's absence which would make the fact that he waited until the last day to buy him a gift blatantly obvious.

     Yuri gives Kuznechik a quick scratch on his head before exiting his apartment for the day. He comes out of the apartment building onto the street, and thankfully it is not raining outside. He stuffs his hands in his pockets and begins walking to the nearby stores.

     "What would Beka want?" Yuri asks to himself as he scans all the stores he passes by. He walks past a tuxedo shop ( _too fancy_ ), a watch store ( _too expensive_ ), an animal shelter, which makes Yuri almost tempted to get a second cat, but he decides against it, and finally Yuri reaches a small, intimate shop. He isn't entirely sure of what they sell there so he steps inside.

     He looks around and sees a variety of different things: jewelry, clothes, shoes, even books, small pieces of furniture, and art. Yuri squints his eyes at a sign on the wall that explains that the store sells things created by local artists or creators, and that everything is handmade. Yuri appreciates this and would rather buy something that supports these artists rather than something made in a factory.

     Yuri walks around to the book section. "Beka does like to read..." mutters Yuri, "But he already has six books he's bought that he has yet to read." Yuri smiles to himself as he thinks about one of the things he loves about Otabek, how he always buys new books even though he has several he hasn't even touched yet. Yuri bites his lip as he recalls the first time he went over to Otabek's apartment - there were _tons_ of books cramped in his many bookcases.

     His head bobs side to side as he decides to not get Otabek a book for his twenty-fifth birthday. Yuri makes his way to the art section, and he knows Otabek also admires art, but nothing screams 'Otabek'. Furniture or things to wear seems a bit impersonal to Yuri, but when he sees the jewlery section, he is suddenly interested. There are lots of different things including necklaces, rings, earrings - but it's the bracelets that pique Yuri's curiosity. His fingers wrap around a set of two bracelets. He reads the packaging it arrives in - and he turns just about as red as the bracelets themselves. Yuri actually covers his mouth because this gift is perfect.

     He makes his way to the cashier and hands her the bracelets. "You have someone special, I see?" The cashier inquires.

     Yuri hesitates for a moment as he hands the cashier his card but he nods to the cashier's question anyway. Her eyes brighten. "I'm sure she'll love this."

     "He will," Yuri says as the cashier gives him back his card.

     The cashier only smiles at this. "Anniversary?"

     "Birthday."

     The cashier places the bracelets in a small paper bag, handing it to Yuri. "I hope he likes it."

     "Me too." Yuri takes the bag and smiles in return before exiting the shop, his face still completely red. He peers into the bag and only feels more nervous so he closes it and  begins to walk back home.

     Yuri enters the apartment building and then the elevator. His best friend, neighbor and crush happens to be in the elevator as well, dressed in the familiar blue scrubs Yuri is used to seeing. Yuri scrambles to conceal the contents of the bag. "B-Beka."

     "Hey, Yura. I just finished work," says Otabek. He looks thoughtfully at Yuri. "Are you okay?"

     "Yes, yes," Yuri nods, his arms crossed. "I - how was work?"

     Otabek tilts his hand side to side. "So-so. I'm just glad to see you." He smiles directly at Yuri which makes Yuri's heart begin to beat at a quicker pace. "Do you think we can watch something tonight, something funny maybe? I'm just really stressed out."

     Yuri shakes his head. "Did you forget? I'm staying up with you until midnight for your birthday."

     "I actually forgot tomorrow's my birthday," says Otabek. "I've never really made a big deal out of it."

     Yuri sighs. "Beka, you're working too hard. Remember, though? We're going to bake you a birthday cake and blow the candles out at twelve on the dot."

     Otabek nods. "Yes, yes. I remember now."

     "Okay, good. I'll get all the ingredients and head back to your's."

     "I'll leave the door unlocked."

 

 

Yuri returns with all the ingredients and Otabek washes up and changes into more casual clothing. Yuri forces them both to put on party hats, which they keep on for about fifteen minutes before the discomfort proves itself too irritating to deal with.

     It is already less than two hours until midnight so Yuri and Otabek begin preparing the cake after spending some time watching comedies on the television and video games. "Beka, we should start making the cake."

     "Ah, okay."

     Yuri opens his Macbook and reads the instructions. "Eh...preheat the oven to 180 degrees."

     Otabek does so, and the two of them begin to prepare the cake. Yuri begins to mix together  eggs, caster sugar, butter and baking powder. "Okay, next step is..." begins Otabek.

     "Wait," Yuri reads the screen once more. "I was meant to mix flour in this bowl as well. Could you get it?"

     "Well how much is it?"

     "A hundred seventy-five grams."

     "Here."

     Yuri mixes the (correct) combination of ingredients while Otabek gets the cocoa and water to add to it as well. Once it's all done, they pour it into the tin, and then into the oven. Yuri sets a timer for about twenty minutes, and then leans against the counter in relief. "I did _not_ anticipate dropping that many eggs on the floor," he says.

     Otabek leans on the counter alongside Yuri, almost tempted to caress the side of his face and some of his long blond hair. "Put your hair down." he orders.

     "Hah?"

     "It looks nice that way, and we aren't cooking anymore," says Otabek matter-of-factly.

     " _You_ put your hair down," Yuri says jokingly, sticking out his tongue.

     Otabek shrugs and releases his hair in the bun it was tied in. Yuri chuckles. "I was kidding, Beka. It's your birthday anyway," says Yuri and then he allows his hair to fall out of its low ponytail. Some of it falls to his face so he takes it behind his ear. "Better?"

     "Yeah," says Otabek.

     Yuri and Otabek dilly-dallied for the twenty minutes that they had to wait for the cake to be finished. Yuri and Otabek were just finishing a round of Mario Kart before the oven begins to sound. Otabek wins in first place and Yuri in second, and then they pause the game to go check on the game.

     "For the record," Yuri says. "I let you win because it's your birthday. Normally, I would've won."

     "Right," says Otabek, placing an oven mitt on and removing the finished cake from the oven. "Whatever helps you sleep at night."

     "Let's frost it," Yuri takes out the piping bag filled with blue icing and he begins to (poorly) frost the cake. Otabek is actually quite skilled at this but he'd rather have Yuri's homemade, horribly frosted chocolate cake. "Now to write the message."

     Yuri takes a thinner type of frosting and writes the birthday message on the cake. It reads:

     _Happy Birthday, Motherfucker!_

     Otabek chuckles. "I didn't expect anything else."

     "Can we eat this already? I'm dying." Yuri whines.

     "We were actually supposed to let it cool before we frosted it, but I suppose it's too late for that now so we might as well," Otabek shrugs and he takes out a knife to cut the cake. Yuri sits atop the kitchen counter to get a better view of the beautiful (that's subjective) cake they have created.

     "Wait, let's sing happy birthday," says Yuri. Otabek goes to turn off all the lights, and Yuri gets a lighter to light the candles on his cake.

     "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to Beka, happy birthday to you," the both sing, except Otabek says "happy birthday to me" instead. Once they have finished singing, Otabek begins to think of a wish.

     At this point, Yuri begins to feel increasingly nervous. He is going to give Otabek his gift quite soon, and once he realizes what the gift means - things will change, but Yuri wants to do it. Maybe it is what Dasha said, maybe it's the way Otabek makes him feel, maybe it's both. But something, whatever it is, has prompted Yuri to do this _tonight_...right now.

     Yuri gulps as Otabek opens his eyes and makes a wish. Yuri can hear his own heart beating. His hands are shaking, but he gulps again to try and shake them off. Otabek smiles at Yuri and Yuri lets out a short breath. "Happy birthday, Beka." he says, his hands quivering.

     "Thank you, Yura," says Otabek, and then he wraps Yuri in a hug. Yuri wraps his arm around Otabek's neck and neither of them separate. _I don't want to let go_ , thinks Yuri, _I don't want to let go_. Yuri only hugs him tighter. Otabek is experiencing similar feelings on the other side of the hug. He is just trying to enjoy this intimate position he is in with the person he has fallen in love with. Otabek can sense some kind of nervousness or tension in Yuri's body so Otabek begins to stroke his back soothingly. Yuri closes his eyes, suddenly overcome with a calm feeling.

     _I think I'm ready now_ , Yuri thinks to himself, _life is short, so, fuck it._

Yuri places a hand at each of Otabek's shoulders and he separates the two of them, looking straight into Otabek's dark eyes. Otabek is completely shocked when he sees Yuri's eyes brimmed with tears. "Please stay."

     Otabek's hand moves some hair out of Yuri's face. "Y-"

     "Don't leave. Don’t move away, don’t take another job somehwere else, don’t move apartments, dont meet someone new and move away with them, please," Yuri begs. His voice breaks, and he looks down at the ground because there are now tears falling from his eyes. He still has his hands on Otabek's shoulders, trying to prevent Otabek from seeing his expression. "Stay."

     Otabek responds by enveloping Yuri in his arms once more, and whispering in his ear. "I'll stay. I promise."

     Yuri closes his eyes in relief. After twenty-one years of constantly being ignored, forgotten and abandoned, he never once loved someone enough to ask them to stay, to believe in the fact that maybe people _are_ capable of staying, until he met Otabek. He reached out to him, asking him to not do what every single person in his life has done. And he is staying.

     "Beka," Yuri mumbles, and then grabs the bag from what he bought earlier. "I got you something."

     "You didn't have to, Yura," Otabek smiles.

     Yuri doesn't respond and hands the bag to Otabek. He didn't bother wrapping it but neither of them really care about that fact. Otabek opens the bag and fishes out the bracelets. It is a set of two, simple red pieces of string that are yet to be knotted. There is no adjustable knot on the bracelet, clasp, or button. It is meant to be tied on once with a knot, never to be taken off again. "Friendship bracelet?" asks Otabek.

     "Read the thing," Yuri says and begins to nervously anticipate Otabek's reaction.

     Otabek begins to read. "According to Chinese and Japanese legend, the gods tie an invisible red cord around the ankles of those that are destined to meet one another in a certain situation or help each other in a certain way, similar to the Western concept of soulmates. The two people connected by the red thread are destined lovers, regardless of place, time, or circumstances. This magical cord may stretch or tangle...but never break."

     His eyes move to Yuri's, which are filled with emotion. "I think you're my soulmate," Yuri says and then he bites his lip.

     Otabek takes one of the red bracelets, and ties it around Yuri's wrist. Without a word, Yuri does the same for him. Otabek links their fingers together and he makes eye contact with Yuri. "I think you're mine, too."

     A single tear falls down his eye and he tries not to look at Otabek, but Otabek lifts his face instead. His fingers wipe the tear, his face only inches from Yuri's. Otabek's dark eyes gaze at Yuri's light ones in the darkness of his apartment, the both of them able to feel their own heartbeats due to how fast they are currently beating.

     Otabek's hand moves to the side of Yuri's face. "Can I kiss you?"

     Yuri merely nods. Otabek kisses him, and Yuri has his arms round Otabek's neck once more. The kiss is sweet and simple, and afterward Otabek presses his forehead against Yuri's. “If i ever leave, Yura, it’ll be with you at my side.”

     Yuri smiles at this before shaking his head.

     "That’s the cheesiest shit I’ve ever heard in my life.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bruh
> 
> I just noticed how short this chapter is wow. sorry :/


	13. Chechnya

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone! I have some things to say:
> 
> \- I have finally updated! I am SO sorry it took SO long, but I really wanted to make sure I had the entire story planned out before I wrote anything. I have officially done so, and I will be finishing this book in as timely a manner as I possibly can.  
> \- I'd just like to explain my predicament, all the reasons for such a terribly long wait after such a crucial chapter. I have been going through a myriad of things: school, personal issues, writer's block. It took so long so get the motivation to sit down and plan everything out. I haven't had much time because of school, my motivation was at a dead end, and creatively speaking, my inspiration was dead. But I churned out this (poorly written, in my opinion) chapter because I just need to go, go, go.   
> \- I don't mean to give TMI, so feel free to skip this, and the entire author's note, honestly, but my mental health has been a mess as well. I won't go into too much detail but it has made everything, not just writing, but also school, my relationships, LIFE in general, very difficult. I'm trying to seek out professional help for my issues but that is proving itself very difficult to do, but one of the things I find helpful in times like these is writing, because at the end of the day, writing is one of my favorite hobbies and it really does make me feel better in a million ways.   
> \- Last thing, THANK YOU! To all my readers, honestly, thank you so much. Your comments, kudos, bookmarks, fanart keep me going and I thought of you all while writing this. Be warned, I am not proud at all of this chapter but I wanted desperately to get SOMETHING out, so here it is! I love you ALL!
> 
> The author's note at the end is quite important!

“ **THAT’S THE CHEESIEST SHIT I’VE EVER HEARD IN MY LIFE,”** says Yuri.

     Otabek and Yuri exchange a loving, warm glance. They are still in their same position, Yuri seated at the top of the counter, arms round Otabek, when Yuri's phone begins vibrating non-stop.

     _Brr. Brr. Brr. Brr. Brr._ Yuri must have been getting at least fifty messages in a row. Yuri removes his arms from Otabek and picks up his phone. All of the messages are from Mila. "' _Turn on BBC,'_ "reads Yuri off of his phone.

     Yuri hops off the counter, immediately turning on to the British Broadcasting Network. A male reporter is speaking. "Russian newspaper _Novaya Gazeta_ has reported over one hundred men suspected of being gay or bisexual have been arrested and tortuted in Chechnya, at least three have been killed."

     Yuri's entire body goes cold. His cyan eyes are fixated on the television before him and Otabek. The entire world is blurred away; the only thing that has Yuri's attention is the report. "Men have been allegedly subject to beatings, tortures, and electric shocks, admitting to their sexual orientation and naming other known gay acquaintances."

     "Yuri—" Otabek places his arm on Yuri's shoulder. Yuri does not respond to this, only continues listening.

     "Alvi Karimov, a representative of Chechnya, has stated ' _It is impossible to detain and oppress that which simply does not exist in the republic,_ '" the reporter continues. _Simply does not exist._ Those words repeat in Otabek and Yuri's mind, tinged with hatred for the very phrase itself.

     Yuri takes out his phone and dials a phone number that Otabek does not recognize. It rings several times with no reply. Yuri curses and hangs up, calli g Mila instead.

     "Mila."

     "Yuri," Mila answers immediately.

     "I just saw—is...is—"

     "Yes," answers Mila, knowing exactly what he means. "Alexei is alive."

     Otabek is absolutely dumbfounded. There is so much going on in such a short span of time that his mind is completely spinning. "Yuri?"

     Yuri finally makes eye contact with him. "Alexei lives in Chechnya."

     Otabek gulps. Gay men being killing Chechnya means that Alexei would be at risk of being killed. He now understands why this would terrify Yuri to such an extent that he had never seen before.

     "But, Yuri..." says Mila.

     Yuri senses something else in Mila's voice; a counterpoint. "But what?"

     It is quiet on Mila's end for a few moments. The TV is still on in the background, Otabek is watching the entire situation unravel in complete bewilderment and Yuri is holding his phone with his eyes wide open, expecting an answer. He's already begun to sweat, and his heartbeat is a million times a minute. "He is not in Chechnya."

     _Not in Chechnya?_ "What?"

     "He...he never left," answers Mila.

     "What the fuck are you telling me, Mila?"

     “After you kicked him out, he had to get a new flight since he had intended on leaving later and….there was an issue with his flight, something about documentation or whatever—the point is that he is still there."

     Yuri rubs his temple with his free hand. "What the fuck, Mila? What the actual _fuck_ ," he sighs. This does not make any sense to Yuri. A substantial amount of time has passed since the events that transpired between Yuri and Alexei, and even Georgi and Mila. A _substantial_ amount of time. "It's been two weeks. He hasn't spoken to me or showed his face at all—it's as if he left."

     "Didn't you basically make it clear that you never wanted to see him again?” asks Mila. "He must've stayed in a hotel then. After what happened, he wouldn't go _back_ to talk to you again, which is the icing on the fucking cake honestly, he gets kicked out, his flight is botched, his hometown is—"

     " _Mila_ ," says Yuri sternly. Mila is sympathizing with him, which is somewhat justified and Yuri is aware of this, but after what happened, after the pain Alexei put Yuri through, it is difficult to come to this realization and admit it to someone. Especially for someone so prideful like Yuri.

     "Yuri, you must see him. Especially now. _Now_ is the time to make amends. Even if you will never see him again—the fact that at any moment, Alexei can—"

     "Stop, stop," Yuri does not even want to hear the reality of what is going on in his home country, and the possibility that it could affect Alexei.

     Mila sighs on the other end. "Well, Yuri. You know what I am trying to say, without me having to actually say it—which means that you _should_ understand how terribly I want you to speak to him. Please."

     "No, no. Absolutely not."

     "Yuri."

     "Mila."

     " _Yuri."_

"Mila."

     "Yuri. Cut the shit," Mila says, her voice suddenly becoming much more serious than it previously was. "Seriously. Cut the bullshit. This is life or death, not fucking petty drama between friends. Even if you and Alexei are not on good terms, you must talk to him, please. The way things ended between you two is not something you want to live with your whole life, Yuri. Especially if Alexei doesn't...you know what the possibility is."

     Yuri thinks deeply for a few moments. Everything Alexei put Yuri through—love, pain, abandonment—and the reality of what is happening in the world before their very eyes—the possiblility of being tortuted and killed for who you love—circulates through his mind like a hurricane. He _knows_ Mila is right. He knows that in every aspect, no matter how you approach the situation—Mila is right.

     He rises from the couch and takes a deep breath. "Where he is staying?"

 

 

 

Yuri faces the hotel room door in front of him with a stern expression. He has no idea what he is going to say, because one thing is planning the words in your head, words that come out carefully calculated, formulated to address issues and insult where it hurts, but when you are actually there—the words spill out and it's nohing like you planned. Yuri knocks on the door. He did not tell Alexei he was coming, and he does not know if this was a good decision or a bad one.

     Yuri knocks twice more, quickly but softly. The door swings open, and there is the curly, red haired figure that Yuri has so many mixed feelings for.

     It is silent, Alexei does not say anything and neither does Yuri, at least for the first few seconds.

     "Why didn't you tell me you were still here?" asks Yuri. He is struggling to keep a stoic expression, to not let anger out, to stay as neutral as humanly possible. Yuri is also aware that this is a ridiculous question because both Yuri and Alexei know the answer.

     "Are you an idiot or did you just forget?" Alexei says, with a surprisingly bitter and angry tone. "You said you didn't want to see, hear, or smell me again."

     Yuri furrows his brows. He does not know what to say. "I—"

     "You called me a sociopath, Yuri."

     _I'm gonna cut the bullshit_ , says Yuri, _just like Mila said_. "I saw the news. About Chechnya. I was worried something had happened to you."

     "Mila told you I was fine, wasn't I?" Alexei mutters.

     "Yes," Yuri answers.

     Alexei is still speaking with fury. "Then why are you here?"

     Yuri exhales. What is he to say? "I...I want to..."

     Alexei looks at Yuri with an impatient expression.

     "I just want to talk about everything that happened. The way we left things off before..." Yuri scratches his neck. "I think we should talk about it again."

     Alexei's expression soften. He was not expecting this kind of response from Yuri. "You're not going to smash my plants, are you?"

     "I was just mad," Yuri recalls throwing Alexei's inconsiderate gift to the floor.

     Alexei hesitates for a moment but then he opens his door and allows Yuri inside. It's a general hotel room and nothing special, but some of Alexei's things are scattered across as he has been staying there for a good two weeks. "Yuri."

     Yuri sits on the couch but distances himself from Alexei. He looks up at Alexei to hear what he has to say.

     "I'm sorry."

     Yuri's mouth opens a bit in shock. Never, _never_ in those horrible hours Yuri and Alexei spend together did Alexei say to him, ' _I'm sorry'_. He never apologized _once_ for everything he did, all the pain he caused. The fact that Alexei is saying this now deeply impacts Yuri.

     "I never said it before," Alexei sighs. "I was too angry. But this period of time here has given me time to think about everything I did wrong, and it's a whole lot, which I'm sure you already know, but I didn't really realize that I never said those words to you, Yuri. But I am sorry. I'm sorry for everything I did to you and I hope you can find some way to forgive me."

     Yuri lets out a small exhale. He is at a loss for words because of the impact of Alexei saying those two simple words has on him. He didn't expect to be this affected by it. Strangely enough, Yuri feels _better_ , almost. Like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. "Thank you."

     "I should have spoken to you, reached out to you the first moment I could. I've already told you the reasons I didn't so I won't repeat them, but I should've done it differently." Alexei rakes a hand through his red curls.

     "I'm sorry, too."

     Alexei's eyes go wide. "What?"

     Yuri closes his eyes and pushes his eyebrows together for a moment before speaking. "You came here, all the way from Chechnya, and I should have realized everything that happened between us between then and now. I would've been better prepared to talk to you—and instead of kicking you out when you had just arrived, we could've had a mature conversation about everything and come to an agreement. We could've understood each other's points of view instead of making the huge mess we made before. I was hostile towards you when you had only good intentions—I kicked you out, smashed your plant and said things to you that I regret. It's taken me time, too, to think about everything that's happened. And honestly, I didn't think I felt any of this until now, but sitting here, speaking to you, hearing our honest feelings that aren't fueled by anger and bitterness like before—I realize that you weren't the only one in the wrong and that I'm at fault too."

     Alexei surprises Yuri by pulling him in for a hug. It isn't romantic or sexual like the way Alexei was interacting with Yuri before—it's a hug of mutual understanding...forgiveness.

     Yuri and Alexei spoke a bit more about everything that happened, but by the end of their conversation, things were much less tense between the two of them and rather chummy. While they may have been in a fight, Yuri and Alexei have been friends for many, many years with a deep connection...one that will always be a part of them...

     "Alexei," says Yuri as they rise off the couch, finishing their lengthy conversation.

     "Yes, Yuri?"

     Yuri looks around at the hotel room Alexei is staying at. "Come stay at my place."

     Alexei, who had begun folding a towel, stops doing so and looks at Yuri with a confused expression. "Eh?"

     Yuri bites his lip. "You're staying here until the airline says you can leave, right?" Alexei nods in response to this. "Well, stay at my apartment. You won't have to spend money on a hotel and..."

     Alexei raises his eyebrows a bit. "...and?"

     "...and that's all," Yuri looks away from Alexei. "So...?"

     "Yes," Alexei responds. "That sounds alright. As long as you promise not to call me a sociopath anymore."

     Yuri shakes his head. "I promise I won't...not to your face, anyway."

     Alexei smiles at this.

     "Ah, and Alexei, is your boyfriend okay? I'm assuming he's in Chechnya as well."

     Alexei's smile dissipates. "We are actually no longer together, but, yes. Thankfully, he is alive."

     Yuri pushes his brows together in confusion. "But Mila told me—"

     "I lied to Mila." Alexei continues folding. Yuri recalls Mila saying the both of them were still together, which is something Yuri disliked Alexei for, considering what happened between him and Yuri.

     “But why?”

     Alexei shrus. “There was no use in you knowing anyway. You hated me either way, so you might as well have thought I was an absolutely horrible person, rather than one that at least had the guts to break up with someone after doing something like...that.”

     _Something like that..._ , thinks Yuri. His mind thinks back to... _that_ , and Yuri immediately thinks of something else. Yuri and Alexei take his things and prepare to leave to check out of the hotel and move to Yuri's place for the timebeing.

     Only time would tell what would transpire.

-

hi, it's the author! please, please read the final authors note, it's quite important!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is very unfortunate to say but the crisis in Chechnya spoken about in this chapter is happening NOW in real life (it began April of 2017), in Chechnya. Gay men are being arrested and killed solely for their sexuality. It's a very serious and terrifying situation that only because of who you love, you may lose your life. 
> 
> Here are some articles about what's going on:  
> http://www.dw.com/en/kremlin-doubts-reports-of-chechnya-gay-killings/a-38431402  
> http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-chechnya-gay-men-killing-torture-vladimir-putin-dmitry-peskov-chechen-leader-ramzan-kadyrov-a7693291.html
> 
> So, with that being said, I'm pasting a bit from a post that talks about Rainbow Railroad, which is an organization that is aiming to help gay men escape these situations:  
>  _“In countries all over the world, lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans-identified (LGBT) people still live in basic fear for their freedom, their safety and their lives. They often have nowhere to turn because their government and police not only tolerate but encourage this brutality. Rainbow Railroad exists to help these people get out of danger to somewhere safe._
> 
> _In the spirit of and with homage to the Underground Railroad, the mission of the Rainbow Railroad is to help LGBT people as they seek safe haven from state enabled violence, murder or persecution. Through funds collected by people like you, we’re able to support, provide information, and help to arrange safe transportation for these LGBT people to somewhere in the world where they can live their lives in safety._
> 
> _They are currently mobilizing emergency efforts towards Chechnya. source: http://rabble.ca/news/2017/05/rally-rainbow-railroad-supports-lgbtq-community-being-targeted-chechnya_
> 
> _You can donate at the following link: https://www.rainbowrailroad.ca/donate " ___
> 
> __Please, please please, if you can, please donate. I've already done so, because the issues going on in Chechnya right now are terrifying beyond belief. Please, help out if you can, I'd really appreciate it!_ _


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